PRESBYTERIANISM. 

ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO. 

ILLUSTRATED  BY 

The    Berean    Presbyterian    Church, 

PHILADELPHIA, 

WITH  SKETCH  OF  THE  CHURCH  AND  AUTO 
BIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  AUTHOR 

BY 

MATTHEW  ANDERSON,  A.  1VL, 

MEMBER   OF  THE  AMERICAN   ACADEMY   OF   POLITICAL   AND    SOCIAL   SCIENCE,   AND    THE 

AMERICAN   NEGRO   ACADEMY   FOR   THE   PROMOTION   OF    LETTERS, 

ART,   LITERATURE   AND    SCIENCE. 

WITH  INTRODUCTIONS 

BY 

FRANCIS  J.  GRIMKE,  D.  D., 

PASTOR   OF   THE    FIFTEENTH    STREET    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH, 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 

AND 

JOHN  B.  REEVE,  D.  D., 

PASTOR  OF  THE  CENTRAL  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  LOMBARD 
STREET,  PHILADELPHIA. 


PHILADELPHIA,  PA.  : 

JOHN  McGILL  WHITE  &  CO. 

1338  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


COPYRIGHT,  1897, 

BY 
JOHN  McGILL  WHITE  &  CO. 


THE  SUNSHINE  PRESS. 


.  DEDICATION  .  .  . 


TO    MY    FRIEND 

JOHN     MCGILL, 

WHO  FOSTERED  AND  SUSTAINED  THE 
BEREAN  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  FOR 
OVER  FOURTEEN  YEARS,  AND  TO  THE 
FRIENDS  OF  THE  COLORED  PEOPLE 
GENERALLY,  IS  THIS  BOOK  MOST 
GRATEFULLY  AND  AFFECTIONATELY 
DEDICATED  BY 

THE   AUTHOR. 
Philadelphia,  July,   1897. 


2201142 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 

I  have  known  the  pastor  of  the  Berean  Presbyterian 
Church,  the  Rev.  Matthew  Anderson,  for  a  number 
of  years.  We  were  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Princeton  together,  since  which  time  our  friendship  has 
deepened  with  increasing  years.  From  the  inception  of 
his  work  in  Philadelphia  I  have  watched  his  career  with 
the  deepest  interest,  loo  much  cannot  be  said  in  praise 
of  his  self-sacrificing  and  indefatigable  efforts  in  pushing 
forward  the  work  to  whicfi,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
he  was  called  shortly  after  the  completion  of  his  Semi- 
nary course.  What  he  has  accomplished  has  simply 
been  marvellous.  No  one  knows  but  those  who  have 
been  most  intimately  associated  with  him,  what  this 
work  has  cost  him  in  care  and  toil.  By  day  and  by 
night,  for  years,  he  went  up  and  down  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia in  search  of  means  to  help  to  pay  for  the  beautiful 
building  in  which  the  congregation  now  worships. 
Often,  I  know,  he  must  have  been  discouraged,  often 
depressed  and  cast  down,  but  his  faith  was  in  God,  and 
so  he  kept  on  in  the  full  assurance  that  success  would 
ultimately  crown  his  efforts.  And  success  has  crowned 
his  efforts.  The  beautiful  structure  on  South  College 
avenue  will  ever  remain  a  monument  to  his  faith,  and 
zeal,  and  earnestness,  and  a  witness  to  the  generosity 
of  the  many  noble  friends  who  came  to  his  assistance, 
and  who  cheered  him  on  by  their  gifts  and  kind  words. 
When  the  last  dollar  was  paid  on  the  building,  I  remem- 
ber how  I  was  thrilled  by  the  joyful  announcement  which 
came  to  me,  from  him,  and  how  my  heart  rejoiced  with 
him  in  the  glorious  consummation. 

I  said  then,  well  done,  and  I  say  now,  a  hundred  times 
over,  "Well  done." 

FRANCIS  J.  GRIMKE. 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  January  10,  1897. 

5 


PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

Having  had  the  privilege  of  hearing  read  from  manu- 
script what  the  Rev.  Matthew  Anderson,  pastor  of  the 
Berean  Presbyterian  Church,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  has 
written  concerning  that  "work  of  faith,"  and  having 
had  full  knowledge  of  it,  from  its  inception  as  a  Mission 
Sunday  School,  until  now,  I  take  great  pleasure  in 
commending  this  sketch  of  local  church  history  to  all 
who  are  interested  in  the  advancement  of  our  Redeem- 
er's Kingdom.  It  witnesses  nobly  to  the  possibilities 
which  lie  before  Presbyterianism  among  the  so  called 
"peculiar  people." 

Had  the  Reverend  Gloucesters,  father  and  son,  found- 
ers of  Presbyterian  Churches  in  this  city  left  similar 
sketches  of  their  noble  work,  such  records  would  now 
be  invaluable. 

J.  B.  REEVE, 


For  more  than  thirty  years  Pastor  of  Central 
Presbyterian  Church,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


January,  1897. 


PREFACE. 

The  motives  which  led  to  the  writing  of  these 
pages  were  not  to  write  a  book,  but  simply  a  re- 
port of  the  Berean  Presbyterian  Church  for  the  Presby- 
tery of  Philadelphia,  and  to  give  a  short  historical  sketch 
of  the  enterprise  from  its  inception,  together  with  an 
Autobiography  of  the  writer  for  the  benefit  of  the  mem- 
bers and  friends  of  the  church. 

It  was  thought  that  as  there  had  never  been  given 
to  the  Presbytery  a  comprehensive  report  of  the  church, 
that  such  a  report  should  be  given  now,  especially  since 
the  debt  on  the  church  proper  had  been  cancelled,  to- 
gether with  one-half  of  the  debt  on  the  parsonage,  and 
since  the  whole  property,  church  and  parsonage,  has  been 
turned  over  to  the  Trustees.  It  was  thought  also,  that 
inasmuch  as  the  writer  has  been  most  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  work,  almost  from  the  very  inception 
of  the  mission,,  that  no  one  was  as  well  acquainted  with 
its  history,  development  and  prospect  as  he,  and  hence 
no  one  was  as  well  prepared  to  write  its  history,  there- 
fore that  he  should  write  a  brief  sketch  of  the  church 
while  the  facts,  purposes,  and  plans,  are  all  fresh  in  his 
mind  for  the  benefit  of  the  congregation  and  the  friends 
generally  of  the  enterprise. 

It  was  while  writing  the  report  for  the  Presbytery 
and  the  historical  sketch  of  the  church  that  the  thought 
was  suggested  of  showing  the  relation  of  Presbyterian- 
ism  to  the  Negro,  using  the  Berean  Church  as  an  illus- 
tration. Hence  the  title,  "Presbyterianism  in  its  re- 
lation to  The  Negro." 

We  have  always  thought,  and  we  believe  rightly,  that 
the  Presbyterian  Church  has  an  important  mission 

7 


8  PREFACE. 

to  perform  among  the  colored  people  of  the  United 
States.  The  doctrines  held  by  the  church  are  the  best 
calculated  to  correct  the  peculiar  faults  of  the  Negro, 
his  legacy  from  slavery,  and  thus  give  him  that  inde- 
pendence and  decision  of  character  necessary  to  enable 
him  to  act  nobly  and  well  his  part  as  a  man  and  a  citi- 
zen of  our  great  republic.  Presbyterian  Churches  and 
schools  should  therefore  be  established  not  only  in  the 
South  but  in  the  North  as  well,  which  will  require  in  the 
main  the  same  methods  and  means  to  establish  and 
carry  them  on,  as  has  been  employed  in  the  Berean 
Church.  Hence  if  there  is  anything  in  the  history  of 
the  Berean  Church,  which  will  inspire  faith  and  energy 
among  those  who  are  laboring  to  establish  Presbyter- 
ism  among  the  colored  people,  as  well  as  to  induce  those 
who  are  able  to  give  of  their  means  towards  such  work, 
we  will  be  satisfied,  feeling  that  we  have  not  labored 
in  vain. 

MATTHEW  ANDERSON. 
PHILADELPHIA,  July,  1897. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 
CHAPTER  I. 

History  of  the  Gloucester  Mission — Its  Organization,  Development 

and  Growth 13 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Writer  Took  Charge  of  the  Gloucester  Mission  Three  Months 

on  Trial 22-24 

Possibilities  of  the  Berean  Presbyterian  Church 24-25 

Examining  Thoroughly  the  Field 25-26 

CHAPTER  III. 

Conclusions   Reached 26-30 

Committee  Appointed  by   the    Presbytery 30 

The  Organization  of  the  Berean  Church 31 

Call  Accepted  and   Pastor  Installed 3  2-34 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Correctness  of  the  Conclusions   Reached 35-36 

Church   Entered — Month  of  Exercises 36-40 

Success  of  the  Enterprise 40-46 

CHAPTER  V. 

Jubilee  Over  the  Completed  Church  and   Cancelled  Debt  ....  47-48 

Report  by  Dr.   Reuel   Stewart 48-50 

Resume  of  the  Work  Accomplished 5°-5* 

Dedicatory  Services  and  Address  by  the  Pastor 51-62 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Advantages  of  the  Berean  Presbyterian   Church 63 

1st. — Church   Finely  Located 63-65 

2nd. — The  Church   and  Parsonage  are  Beautiful 65-67 

3rd. — The  Pastor  is  Thoroughly  Acquainted  with   the   Field  .    .    .  67-70 

4th. — The  Church  Will  in  Time  Become  Self-Sustaining 70-72 

Extract  from    Report  to  President   Through  the   Extension   Com- 
mittee    72-78 

5th.— The  Colored  People  Take  to  Presbyterianism 78-81 

9 


io  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII.  PAGE. 
Shall  the  Protestant  or  the  Catholic  Church  Occupy  the  Field 

Among  the  Colored  People? 82-83 

The  Success  of  the  Catholic  Church  Among  the  Colored  People  .  83-84 
The  Reasons  Why  the  Catholic  Church  Succeeds  Among  the 

Colored  People 84-85 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Staunch  Friends  of  the  Berean  Church  and  of  the  Negro  ....  86-90 

The   Board   of  Trustees 90-91 

Accounts  Audited 9I~92 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Events  in  the  Pastor's  Experience 93 

1st. — Going  to  Princeton    Seminary 93 

2nd. — Writing  for  the  American  Missionary  Association 93 

3rd. — Studying  at  Yale  and  Supplying  the  Temple  Congregational 

Church  at  New  Haven,  Connecticut 94 

4th. — Taking  Charge  of  the  Gloucester  Mission 94-95 

5th. — The  Action  of   the    Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Central   on 

Taking  the  Mission,  and  Missionary  Under  its  Care        ...          95 

The  Interest  Shown  by  Mr.  Jarden 95-9° 

Almost  Ready  to  Give  Up 96-97 

6th. — Mr.  McGill's  Revelation  to  Mr.  Anderson    ......     97-98 

Mr.  McGill  Took  Hold 99-100 

Other  Friends loo-ioi 

What  the  Philadelphia  Sentinel  Said  in  Reference  to  the  Enterprise 

of  the  Berean    Presbyterian  Church 101-108 

Charter  of  the  Berean  Church Io8-in 

Constitution  and  By-Laws 112-117 

Session  of  the  Berean  Presbyterian  Church 117 

Extracts  from  Report  on  the  Work   Among  the  Freedmen  to  the 

Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Central  for  1889 118-124 

Extracts  from  Report  for  1890 125-131 

PART  SECOND. 

AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  REV.  MATTHEW  ANDERSON. 
CHAPTER  X. 

Guided  by  an  Over-Ruling  Providence 135 

Great  Desire  for  an  Education 135-136 

Iberia  College,  Ohio 137 

The  Character  of  the  School 137-141 

Ambitious  to  Lead  the  Class 141-142 


CONTENTS.  ii 

CHAPTER  XI.  PAG*. 

Entered  Oberlin  College 143 

First  Impressions  of  Oberlin  . 143-144 

Experience  as  Student  at  Oberlin 144-146 

Lecturing  Tour 146-147 

Sad   Experiences 147-150 

Unmercifulness 150-152 

Walked  the  Railroad  Ties   to   Berea,  Ohio 152-153 

Assisted  to  Oberlin 153-154 

Returned    Home 154 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Went  South  as  a  Missionary 155 

Early  Impressions  of  Slavery 155-156 

First  Impressions   of  the  South 156-157 

Amusing  Sights 157-160 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Resumed  Schooling 162 

Returned  to  Oberlin 162 

Graduation  at  Oberlin 162 

Entered  the  Western  Seminary  at  Allegheny 163 

Avery  Fund 164 

Left  Allegheny  for  Princeton       164 

The  Embarrassment  of  Dr.    McGill       .    .  165-166 

Dr.  Moffet 167 

Given  a   Lumber  Room 167 

Good   Room  Given 167 

Impressions   of    Princeton 168-170 

Western  Classmates  at    Princeton 170-172 

The  Negro  Student  at  Princeton    Seminary      173-174 

Hugh  M.  Browne,  Francis  J.  Grimkie,  Daniel  W.  Gulp 174-175 

The  Negro  Student  at  Princeton  College .  175-176 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Entered  Upon  Life's  Work 177 

Writing  for  the  American  Missionary  Association 177-178 

Mr.   William  C.  Brown 179-181 

Prejudice  Rebuked 181-182 

Went  to  New  Haven 182-183 

The   Hand  of  the  Lord  is  seen 183-184 

1st. — In  Leading  Us  to  Pittsburgh 184 

2nd. — In  Directing  Us  to  Rev.  Thomas  Robinson,  D.  D.,  LL.D  .          184 

Side  Lights 185-187 

Personal  Rules  of  Life 187-188 


12  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XV.  PAGB. 

Resume  of  Seventeen  Years'  Work  in  Philadelphia,  and  the 

Eighteenth  Since  Ordination 189 

Our  Motives 189-192 

Our  Friends,  Mrs.  James  Hogg,  Mrs.  Anna  Coates,  Mrs.  William 

Hogg,  Mr.  William  S.  Reyburn,  Mr.  John  McGill,  Mr.  Joseph 

Clough,  Mr.  John  S.  Converse,  Dr.  Reuel  Stewart,  Dr.    E. 

Williams  and  Others 192-203 

False  Friends 203-206 

The  Property  of  the  Berean  Church  Turned  Over  to  the  Trustees,  206 
Intimately  Acquainted  with  Mr.  McGill  for  Fourteen  Years  .  .  .  207 

Motives  Impugned 207-208 

Unselfish  Spirit 208 

Pledged  to  Stand  by  the  Berean  Church  Until  the  Debt  Should 

be  Paid 208 

Unwise  Trustees 209 

Advisory  Committee 210-211 

Proposed  Resignation 211-215 

Peace  and  Harmony 215-216 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Pity  for  the  Negro   Contemptible 217-220 

Too  Great  Distance  Between  the  White  and  Colored  People.  .220-221 
Unmanly  Negroes,  a  Curse  to  the  Cause 221-222 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Compelled  to  Resort  to  Severe  Measures 223-224 

Examples 224-241 

1st. — A  Wealthy  Widow  Lady 224 

2nd. — A  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Official 226 

3rd. — A    Young    Aristocratic   Woman 230 

4th. — A  Philanthropist 233 

5th. — A  Gentleman 236 

6th. — Organizing  a  Building  and  Loan  Association 241-246 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The    Conclusion 247 

The  Seventeen  Years'  Experience  Has  Made  the   Writer  a  Wiser 

and   Better   Man 247-250 

The  Berean  Cottage 250-252 

Let  Those  Who  Are  in  Position  Give  of  Their  Means  to  Assist  in 

Developing  the  Berean  Church 252-253 

The  Seal  of  the  Spirit  Upon  the  Work 253-255 

Examples 255-259 

The    End  .  260 


frvT&l /**- 

s^t*)  s       y; 

//£&!f^ip£g<&<^z>z^ 


Sl 


'^ 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  GLOUCESTER  PRESBYTERIAN  MISSION  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 
ITS  ORGANIZATION,  DEVELOPMENT  AND  OUTGROWTH. 

The  advisability  of  starting  a  Presbyterian  Mission 
in  the  northwestern  section  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
was  a  subject  which  had  long  occupied  the  minds  of 
the  good  people  of  the  Lombard  Street  Central  Presby- 
terian Church.  From  time  to  time  the  question  came 
up.  The  need  of  the  church  engaging  in  more  active 
missionary  work,  or  a  part  of  the  members  going  out 
and  forming  themselves  into  a  nucleus  of  a  new  church, 
had  been  frequently  suggested  from  the  pulpit  by  their 
efficient  and  beloved  pastor — Dr.  John  B.  Reeve.  It 
was  the  subject  of  discussion  in  many  of  their  session 
meetings,  and  it  was  the  subject  most  frequently  referred 
to  by  their  more  pious  and  enterprising  members.  It 
was  claimed  by  the  friends  of  the  church  that  if  it  is  a 
man's  first  duty  to  provide  for  his  family,  it  is  a  church's 
first  duty  to  provide  the  bread  of  life  for  the  sinners  at 
home,  and  then  send  it  to  the  heathen  in  foreign  lands. 

In  the  northwestern  section  of  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia, was  a  territory  in  which  there  was  a  population 
of  upwards  of  six  thousand  colored  people,  which  was 
unoccupied  by  any  church,  except  by  a  small  Methodist 
mission,  and  as  there  had  not  been  a  mission  started 
among  the  colored  people  of  Philadelphia  by  any  of 
the  Presbyteries  for  over  forty  years  the  brethren 
thought  it  time  to  commence  the  work  which  was  ripe 
for  the  harvest.  Hence  there  seemed  to  be  the  most 
urgent  demand  for  the  starting  of  a  Presbyterian  mis- 
sion in  this  section.  Besides  a  number  of  members 
of  the  Central  Church  resided  in  this  part  of  the  city, 

13 


14  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

who  were  so  far  removed  from  their  church  that  they 
could  not  attend  regularly,  therefore  this  was  another 
reason  why  such  an  enterprise  should  be  started.  But 
the  contemplated  mission  was  not  without  its  opposers. 
Some  thought  that  two  Presbyterian  churches  were  all 
that  were  needed  in  the  city.  Others  thought  that  if  a 
mission  were  started,  all  the  disaffected  "members  in  Cen- 
tral Church  would  leave  and  go  there,  and  as  a  con- 
sequence, the  financial  support  of  that  church  would  be 
very  much  affected.  Others  argued  that  if  the  mis- 
sion were  begun  it  would  expect  to  get  support  from 
the  church,  and  therefore  it  would  prove  to  be  a  burden 
instead  of  a  help.  Several  years  were  spent  in  dis- 
cussing the  different  phases  of  the  proposed  mission. 
Finally  after  much  discussion,  perplexity  of  mind  and 
prayer,  it  was  decided  to  begin  the  mission,  but  with  the 
distinct  understanding  that  the  relation  existing  be- 
tween the  mission  and  the  mother  church  should  only 
be  a  spiritual  relation  and  that  the  Central  Church  be 
under  no  obligation  whatever  for  its  support,  a  proposi- 
tion which  has  been  strictly  adhered  to  from  that  time  to 
the  present.  It  now  being  decided  that  the  mission 
should  be  started,  the  next  thing  to  be  decided  was  the 
location.  A  number  of  points  were  suggested. 
Some  thought  on  Lombard  street  near  Twenty-first, 
others,  on  Wood  street,  near  Eleventh,  and  still  others, 
at  pth  and  Buttonwood.  The  attention  of  the  session 
was  finally  called  to  a  large  settlement  of  colored  peo- 
ple in  the  neighborhood  of  iQth  and  Fairmount  avenue, 
among  whom  was  a  number  of  families  connected  with 
the  Lombard  Street  Central  Presbyterian  Church. 

After  much  prayer  and  deliberation  on  the  subject, 
and  interviews  with  the  brethren  who  resided  in  this 
section,  and  conferences  with  influential  members  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Central,  it  was  finally 
decided  to  start  the  mission  on  Fairmount  avenue,  in 
the  neighborhood  of  iQth  and  West  streets. 


ITS  RELA  TION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  \  5 

Accordingly  on  Sabbath  afternoon,  the  6th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1878,  the  Session  of  Central  Church,  consisting 
of  Dr.  John  B.  Reeve,  and  Elders  Wm.  Still,  and  Rob- 
ert Jones,  with  several  lay  members,  proceeded  to  Mil- 
ton Hall,  1914  Fairmount  avenue,  which  had  been  pre- 
viously secured  for  the  purpose,  and  organized  a  Mis- 
sion Sabbath  School  to  be  known  as  the  Gloucester 
Presbyterian  Mission.  Mr.  Wm.  J.  Johnson,  a  member 
of  the  Central  Church  was  chosen  Superintendent  and 
Miss  Susan  Mellen — now  Mrs.  Sheridan — his  assistant. 
Mr.  Wm.  H.  Jones  was  chosen  Secretary,  and  Miss 
Susan  Thompson,  Treasurer.  The  original  officers  and 
teachers  of  the  mission  were  the  Executive  Committee, 
Rev.  John  B.  Reeve,  D.  D.,  and  Elders  Wm.  Still  and 
Robert  Jones.  Teachers  and  officers  of  the  school,  Mr. 
Wm.  J.  Johnson,  Mr.  Wm.  H.  Jones,  Miss  Susan  Mellen, 
Miss  Susan  Thompson,  Mrs.  Emma  Brown,  and  Mrs. 
Louisa  Knight.  The  number  of  pupils  presented  at  the 
opening  of  the  mission  was  said  to  be  not  more  than 
fifteen  or  twenty,  which  number  gradually  increased 
so  that  by  the  end  of  the  year  there  were  enrolled  fifty, 
with  an  average  attendance  of  twenty-five. 

The  mission  being  organized,  it  was  now  the  duty 
of  the  committee  to  arrange  the  time  and  order  of  the 
exercises.  It  was  decided  that  the  Sabbath  School 
should  convene  at  3  p.  m.,  and  close  at  half  past  four, 
after  which,  there  should  be  delivered  a  short  sermon 
by  Dr.  Reeve,  or  by  some  one  appointed  by  the  com- 
mittee, until  such  time,  as  in  their  judgment,  there 
would  be  sufficient  interest  to  warrant  the  labors  of  a 
regular  Missionary. 

For  over  three  months  Dr.  Reeve  conducted  this  ser- 
service,  also  taught  a  Bible  class,  when,  owing  to  the 
distance  he  had  to  come,  and  the  pressure  upon  his 
time  in  his  own  field  of  labor,  it  was  thought  best  to 
place  some  one  over  the  work  who  could  give  it  his 
entire  time  and  attention. 


1 6  PRESB  YTERIA  NISM. 

Accordingly,  on  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Reeve,  Mr.  R. 
H.  Armstrong,  then  a  member  of  the  Theological  de- 
partment of  Lincoln  University,  was  invited  to  take 
charge  of  the  mission  during  his  vacation. 

He  accepted  and  took  charge  of  the  mission  in  April, 
1878,  a  little  over  three  months  after  its  organization. 

Too  much  can  not  be  said  in  praise  of  Mr.  Armstrong 
as  a  missionary.  Affable  in  his  manners,  loving  in  his 
disposition,  gentlemanly  in  his  deportment,  and  indefa- 
tigable in  his  labors,  he  soon  won  the  love  and  esteem 
of  all.  Under  him,  the  work  received  a  new  impulse; 
the  teachers  of  the  Sabbath  School  took  new  courage 
and  in  a  little  while  there  was  a  visible  increase  in  at- 
tendance. 

Mr.  Armstrong  began  the  first  real  missionary  work, 
that  of  house  to  house  visitation,  distributing  tracts, 
encouraging  Christians,  exhorting  sinners,  praying  by 
the  bedside  of  the  sick  and  infirm,  comforting  the  be- 
reaved and  establishing  prayer  meetings  in  districts 
where  the  Sabbath  was  profaned,  or  where  the  people 
were  so  circumstanced  that  they  could  not  conveniently 
attend  church.  The  amount  of  good  done  by  this  dear 
brother  can  not  be  estimated,  nor  will  it  be  known  until 
the  last  great  unveiling  when  every  man  will  be  re- 
warded according  to  his  works. 

His  influence  for  good  is  still  felt,  and  some  of  the 
fruits  which  we  had  the  honor  of  gathering  were  no 
doubt  sown  by  him. 

Mr.  Armstrong  had  charge  of  the  mission  about  five 
months,  from  April  to  September,  when  he  left  to  re- 
sume his  studies  at  the  University.  From  September, 
1878,  to  June,  1879,  a  period  of  nine  months,  there  was 
no  regular  Missionary,  the  work  being  carried  on  prin- 
cipally by  the  teachers  of  the  Sabbath  School.  During 
this  period  there  were  a  number  of  changes,  also,  among 
the  officers  and  teachers.  For  example,  Mr.  Wm.  J. 
Johnson,  the  first  Superintendent  of  the  Sabbath  School, 


ITS  RELATION  TO   THE  NEGRO.  17 

resigned  his  position,  and  Mr.  H.  Boyer  was  put  in 
his  place,  and  Mrs.  Emma  Brown  was  made  his  assist- 
ant. Mr.  Boyer  retained  his  position  only  a  short  time 
before  he  resigned,  and  Elder  Still  was  put  in  his  place. 
Miss  Susan  Thompson  was  compelled,  by  sickness,  to 
resign  her  position  and  Miss  Susan  Mellen,  now  Mrs. 
Sheridan,  was  put  in  her  place.  This  was  a  trying  time 
to  the  little  band  of  workers,  using  their  own"  language, 
"It  was  a  time  when  it  did  seem  that  their  little  bark 
would  sink."  Small  in  numbers,  scant  in  means,  dis- 
couraged without  and  filled  with  fears  within,  it  looked 
as  if  every  ray  of  hope  for  the  ultimate  success  of  the 
enterprise  had  gone.  But  against  these  obstacles  they 
bravely  struggled  on,  looking  beyond  them  to  Him 
who  has  said,  "Whatsoever  you  ask  in  prayer,  believing, 
ye  shall  receive." 

There  was  no  better  exhibition  of  faith  than  the  regu- 
lar meeting  of  this  little  handful  of  Christian  workers 
at  their  post  of  duty.  Every  Sabbath  afternoon  they 
could  be  seen  with  their  little  charge  earnestly  endeav- 
oring to  instruct  them  in  the  truth  and  thus  discharge 
a  duty  which  they  were  solemnly  commissioned  to  per- 
form. 

That  mistakes  were  made,  and  many  unwise  things 
done,  cannot  be  denied,  for  When  there  is  considered 
the  inexperience  of  the  workers  and  the  discourage- 
ments with  which  they  had  to  contend,  it  is  not  strange 
that  mistakes  were  made,  indeed,  the  wonder  is  that 
they  succeeded  so  well. 

It  was  no  small  undertaking  for  a  little  band  of  Chris- 
tian women,  with  no  funds  at  their  command,  nor  any 
benevolent  source  from  which  to  receive  assistance  to 
pay  the  rent  of  a  public  hall,  purchase  a  library,  pay 
fifty  dollars  for  an  organ,  and  meet  all  the  other  ne- 
cessary expenses  which  would  naturally  be  incurred  in 
a  mission.  Hence,  it  will  be  seen  that  their  undertak- 
ing was  no  easy  task,  and  that  they  deserve  no  little 


1 8  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

credit  for  the  persistency  with  which  they  held  on  in 
the  midst  of  perplexities  and  trials,  working  as  it  were, 
against  hope,  from  what  they  believed  to  be  a  sense  of 
duty. 

We  can  therefore  heartily  ascribe  to  them  the  lan- 
guage of  Scripture:  "Well  done,  good  and  faithful  serv- 
ants." 

Among  the  most  faithful  workers  in  the  mission  dur- 
these  trying  times  was  Mr.  William  Wilberforce  Still, 
the  organist,  whose  services  were  solicited  by  Mr.  Arm- 
strong. Mr.  Still  though  not  a  professed  Christian,  was 
deeply  interested  in  the  success  of  the  mission,  and  for 
over  five  years  was  found  punctually  at  his  post  of  duty. 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1879,  Mr.  James  Lavatt,  a 
student  in  the  theological  department  of  Lincoln  Uni- 
versity was  invited  to  take  charge  of  the  mission  during 
his  summer  vacation,  which  he  accepted,  and  entered 
upon  his  labors  the  first  of  June. 

Though  Mr.  Lavatt  was  not  able  to  give  the  mission 
his  entire  time,  as  he  was  otherwise  engaged,  still  the 
work  was  very  much  encouraged  by  his  efforts.  He 
left  to  resume  his  studies  early  in  September,  having 
labored  three  months. 

It  had  now  been  a  year  and  seven  months  since  the 
organization  of  the  mission,  and  it  had  been  truly  a 
trying  period  to  the  little  flock.  It  very  often  looked 
during  this  period,  as  if  they  would  have  to  abandon 
the  field,  for  obstacles  met  them  on  every  side,  financial- 
ly embarrassed,  discouraged  by  friends,  laughed  at  by 
enemies,  criticised  by  the  incredulous  and  openly  oppos- 
ed by  the  suspicious,  it  was  sufficient  to  discourage  them 
and  make  them  think  of  abandoning  the  field.  The 
impression  had  become  quite  general  that  the  enterprise 
was  a  lost  cause,  and  the  workers  were  abandoned  to 
their  fate.  But  they  obtained  help  from  above,  and 
pressed  forward.  Those  most  interested  in  the  mission 
plainly  saw  that  if  the  work  would  succeed  there  must 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  19 

be  a  regularly  ordained  Missionary  on  the  field,  and  yet 
they  knew,  that  they  had  no  inducements  to  offer  by 
which  to  secure  such  a  person.  For  example,  they 
were  not  able  to  offer  any  financial  support,  hence,  they 
had  little  reason  to  hope  that  a  Missionary  would  be 
secured.  Besides,  there  was  a  sensible  falling  off  on 
the  part  of  the  children  of  the  Sabbath  School,  all  of 
which  seemed  to  point  to  the  speedy  dissolution  of  the 
work. 

This  was  the  state  of  things  in  regard  to  the  Glouces- 
ter Presbyterian  Mission  when  the  writer  stopped  off  in 
Philadelphia,  on  his  way  from  New  Haven,  Connecticut, 
to  his  home  in  Greencastle,  Pennsylvania. 

It  was  his  purpose  after  having  spent  a  few  weeks 
of  quiet  and  rest  at  his  home  in  the  lovely,  picturesque 
Cumberland  Valley,  to  enter  upon  his  long  cherished 
lifework,  that  of  a  Missionary  in  one  of  the  many  fields 
which  had  been  opening  up  to  him  in  the  South  and 
West.  Where  he  would  commence  his  labors,  he  did 
not  know,  nor  did  he  care,  so  long  as  he  knew  that  he 
was  being  led  by  the  directing  hand  of  Providence,  for 
the  call  was  equally  loud  and  clear  to  come  to  Selma, 
Ala.,  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  Indian- 
apolis, Indiana. 

The  American  Missionary  Association,  which  was  do- 
ing more  than  all  the  other  missionary  societies  to- 
gether, for  the  elevation  of  the  Freedmen  of  the  South, 
had  sent  most  urgent  appeals  to  the  writer  to  enter  upon 
their  work,  giving  him  his  choice  of  the  fields  above  men- 
tioned, while  friends  both  in  Cleveland  and  Indianapolis, 
were  as  urgent  for  him  to  come  to  them.  When  a 
student  at  Oberlin,  he  had  labored  as  a  teacher  both  in 
South  and  West,  and  therefore,  had  occasion  to  know 
something  of  the  grand  opportunities  which  lay  before 
the  faithful  worker  in  these  fields,  yet  he  had  not  decided 
where  he  would  go,  as  he  had  no  preference,  unless  it 
was  for  the  South.  This  was  the  state  of  mind  of  the 


PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

writer,  when  he  stopped  off  in  Philadelphia,  to  visit  his 
friend,  Rev.  J.  B.  Reeve,  D.  D.,  when  on  his  way  to  his 
home  in  Greencastle,  Pa. 

Learning  that  it  was  the  writer's  purpose  to  enter 
upon  the  mission  field,  Dr.  Reeve  called  his  attention 
to  the  Gloucester  Presbyterian  Mission  in  the  north- 
western section  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  and  said 
that  since  he  was  going  to  enter  upon  that  kind  of  work, 
he  might  as  well  enter  upon  it  in  Philadelphia,  as  in 
any  other  field.  That  wherever  he  went,  if  he  would 
succeeded  he  would  have  to  make  great  sacrifices,  and  he 
might  as  well  make  them  in  Philadelphia,  as  elsewhere. 
Up  to  this  time,  the  writer  had  known  comparatively 
nothing  concerning  the  Gloucester  Mission.  That  the 
Central  Church  had  a  mission  in  the  northwestern  sec- 
tion of  the  city,  he  knew,  but  of  the  circumstances  con- 
nected with  its  organization,  the  manner  in  which  it  was 
conducted,  the  condition  which  it  was  in,  and  the  pros- 
pect it  had  of  developing  into  a  strong  and  influential 
church,  he  knew  nothing. 

Yet  for  some  inexplicable  cause  he  felt  drawn  to- 
wards the  work  of  this  mission  as  soon  as  his  attention 
was  called  to  it,  and  that,  not  because  there  was  any- 
thing tempting  about  the  field,  on  the  contrary,  there 
was  no  more  discouraging  looking  field  in  all  the  South 
and  West,  than  the  Gloucester  Presbyterian  Mission 
looked  at  this  time.  To  all  outward  appearances 
there  was  not  a  shadow  of  hope  for  its  success.  The 
children  scattered,  the  teachers  discouraged,  without 
any  money  to  support  a  Missionary,  not  even  to  give 
him  his  board,  and  the  want  of  an  interest  on  the  part 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  as  a  whole,  in  the  City  of 
Philadelphia,  towards  the  work  of  the  colored  people, 
made  the  enterprise  look  anything  but  hopeful.  And 
yet  he  could  not  get  rid  of  the  thought  that  it  was  the 
field  that  he  was  seeking. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  21 

The  possible  reasons  why  the  writer  was  drawn  to 
this  field  were  these,  first,  from  a  youth,  he  had  espoused 
the  missionary  cause  and  was  ready  to  labor  where  he 
was  the  most  drawn,  whether  North  or  South  or  in  for- 
eign lands;  second,  the  belief  he  had  long  entertained 
that  the  success  of  the  work  in  the  South  would  depend 
largely  upon  the  success  of  the  work  among  the  same 
people  in  the  North. 


CHAPTER  II. 

TOOK  CHARGE  OF  THE  GLOUCESTER  MISSION  THREE 
MONTHS  ON  TRIAL. 

We  took  charge  of  the  Gloucester  Mission  the  4th  of 
October  1879.  Though  seventeen  years  have  elapsed 
since  then  it  seems  but  yesterday.  Every  thing  is  as 
plain  to  our  mental  vision  now  as  it  was  then,  not  only 
the  room  in  which  the  Mission  met,  the  audience  as  it 
first  appeared,  the  section  of  the  city  in  which  lay  our 
field  but  also  our  impressions  and  thoughts. 

We  can  see  now  as  we  saw  then,  the  little,  dark,  nar- 
row room  with  windows  only  at  the  rear  end,  and  the 
assembled  audience  which  numbered  not  more  than 
twenty-five  persons,  principally  children,  to  receive  and 
hear  for  the  first  time  their  new  Missionary.  We  can 
see  their  inquisitive  look  and  almost  feel  their  excited 
thought  of  mingled  pleasure  and  disappointment  as  we 
entered  the  Hall  in  company  with  Dr.  Reeve,  and  took 
a  seat  upon  the  platform. 

We  well  remember  our  feelings,  and  the  questions 
which  we  put  in  rapid  succession  to  ourselves  the  few 
minutes  we  sat  there  glancing  at  the  auditorium  and 
at  the  audience.  "Is  this  the  ideal  church"  we  excitedly 
asked,  "which  had  been  pictured  to  our  imagination  when 
preparing  for  the  ministry?"  "Is  this  the  vast  audience 
which  we  were  to  address?"  "and  are  these  the  intelli- 
gent, industrious  and  enterprising  people  which  we  had 
seen  in  imagination?"  "Have  we  not  been  exceedingly 
silly  to  let  so  many  golden  opportunities  slip  of  fields 
which  were  commensurate  with  our  ambition  and  abil- 
ity for  this  poor  sterile  field,  the  Gloucester  Mission?" 

Only  a  little  over  a  year  before  while  in  the  Divinity 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  23 

School  at  Yale  we  had  a  pressing  invitation  from  the 
American  Missionary  Association  to  lecture  in  England 
and  on  the  Continent  in  behalf  of  their  work,  in  com- 
pany with  the  Fisk  Jubilee  Singers,  who  were  in  Eng- 
land at  the  time.  But  we  refused,  choosing  rather  to 
labor  humbly  but  independently  at  home  than  con- 
spicuously but  servilely  abroad. 

And  since  we  had  resigned  the  Temple  Street  Con- 
gregational Church,  of  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  which 
we  had  been  supplying  while  a  student  there,  we  had 
been  given  the  refusal  of  several  of  the  best  Southern 
field's,  under  the  auspices  of  the  American  Missionary 
Association,  and  since  our  attention  was  called  to  this 
field,  we  had  refused  a  call  to  the  Mount  Zion  Congre- 
gational Church,  of  Cleveland,  at  a  salary  of  eight  hun- 
dred dollars  for  this  field,  not  only  where  the  people 
were  not  able  to  give  any  salary,  but  where  no  stipula- 
tion was  made  whatever  for  our  support.  As  we 
thought  of  these  opportunities  which  we  let  slip  and 
looked  at  the  little  dingy  place  of  meeting  in  the  second 
story  back  room  in  Milton  Hall,  and  the  little  poor  and 
almost  childish  audience  we  asked  ourselves  over  and 
over  again  the  question,  "Were  we  not  sillv  for  coming 
to  Philadelphia,  to  take  charge  of  a  mission,  which 
could  present  no  better  outlook  than  this?" 

But  there  came  to  us  the  sober  second  thought  which 
was  a  conclusive  answer  to  our  queries  and  a  settler 
for  all  time  to  come  of  every  misgiving  that  might  arise 
from  this  cause.  "What  has  always  been  our  concep- 
tion of  the  Gospel  Ministry?"  we  asked.  "Are  not  the 
ministers  of  Jesus  Christ  the  commissioned  heralds  of 
glad  tidings  of  great  joy  to  all  the  world,  to  the  rich 
and  the  poor,  to  the  high  and  the  low,  to  the  refined 
and  degraded  alike?"  "And  is  He,  from  whom  the 
heralds  of  the  cross  received  their  commission  and  by 
whom  they  are  sent  dependent  upon  man  for  the  success 
of  his  cause,  or  upon  his  own  omnipotent  arm?"  "Does 


24  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

He  not  say,  and  do  we  not  believe  it,  the  same  being 
verified  in  ten  thousand  different  ways  on  every  side, 
that  "God  hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the  world 
to  confound  the  wise;  and  God  has  chosen  the  weak 
things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  things  which  are 
mighty;  and  the  base  things  of  the  world  and  the  things 
which  are  despised,  hath  God  chosen,  yea  and  the  things 
which  are  not  to  bring  to  naught  things  that  are: 
That  no  flesh  should  glory  in  his  presence."  "Hence 
with  God  on  our  side  and  his  blessing  resting  upon  our 
efforts  that  this  little  nucleus  of  a  church,  a  mere  em- 
bryo, could  develope  into  a  mighty  power,  whose  influ- 
ence would  be  felt  not  only  throughout  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  but  the  land,  and  would  tell  mightily  for 
Christ,  and  humanity,  and  Presbyterianism  among  the 
colored  people  generally." 

POSSIBILITIES  OF  THE  BEREAN  CHURCH. 

This  thought  having  gained  the  mastery,  all  the 
despicable  feelings  which  we  had  entertained  about  the 
Mission  at  once  vanished;  and  from  that  moment  we 
have  looked  upon  ourselves  and  our  mission  as  peculiarly 
representative,  and  as  embracing  within  it  the  greatest 
possibilities.  We  believe  then,  and  as  God's  plan  for  us 
unfolds,  as  exhibited  by  the  work  of  the  Mission,  are 
we  more  and  more  confirmed  in  that  belief  now,  namely, 
that  the  great  Mission  of  the  Berean  Church  is  to  illus- 
trate to  the  City  of  Philadelphia  and  this  land  and  the 
world  the  great  possibilities  of  the  Negro  for  good. 
Latent  powers  lie  within  him,  unseen  by  the  casual  ob- 
server, not  even  by  the  church,  which  if  drawn  out 
naturally  and  developed  according  to  God's  plan  will 
make  him  one  of  the  mightiest  powers  for  the  tearing 
down  of  the  strong  holds  of  sin  and  satan  within  the 
reach  of  the  church,  and  that  there  was  no  branch  of 
the  church  universal,  which  was  so  well  qualified  by 
their  doctrinal  beliefs  to  draw  out  these  latent 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  25 

powers  and  develop  the  Negro  into  the  strong-  defender 
of  Christ  and  the  Truth  as  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
We  took  charge  of  the  Mission  for  three  months,  with 
the  understanding  that  if  after  having  given  the  work  a 
faithful  trial  for  that  length  of  time  and  we  found  that 
there  was  sufficient  interest  in  the  people  and  material 
in  the  field  to  justify  our  remaining,  to  do  so,  otherwise 
to  leave. 

EXAMINING  THOROUGHLY  THE  FIELD. 

The  first  thing  that  we  did  was  to  acquaint  ourselves 
thoroughly  with  the  field  which  embraced  the  whole 
northwestern  section  of  the  city.  The  next  thing  was  to 
map  out  the  field,  which  was  made  to  embrace  the  dis- 
trict from  1 2th  street  to  the  Schuylkill  river,  and  from 
Montgomery  avenue  to  Market  street.  Within  three 
weeks  we  had  called  upon  all  the  colored  families  within 
this  district,  having  carefully  taken  their  names  and 
addresses,  the  names  and  number  of  children,  also  the 
churches  which  they  attended  and  the  number  of  those 
who  attended  no  particular  church,  also  those  who  were 
inclined  towards  the  Presbyterian  Church.  After  hav- 
ing completed  this  we  then  had  a  map  carefully  made 
of  this  district  which  would  show  at  a  glance  the  streets 
on  which  the  colored  people  principally  lived. 

On  the  6th,  of  January,  1880,  the  Lombard  Street 
Central  Presbyterian  Church  sent  a  committee  consist- 
ing of  Elders,  Jones  and  Still  with  a  petition  to  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Philadelphia  Central,  which  had  convened  in 
the  Green  Hill  Church  asking  them  to  take  the  Mission 
under  their  care,  and  to  release  the  Lombard  Street 
Church  from  all  further  care  and  responsibility.  The 
proposition  was  unanimously  accepted  and  the  church 
released. 

At  the  same  time  a  movement  was  started  to  raise 
money  to  secure  a  lot  and  erect  a  building  for  the  new 
Mission,  also  to  provide  for  the  support  of  the  mission- 


26  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

ary.  Upwards  of  a  thousand  dollars  was  pledged  by 
the  brethren  there  and  then  for  the  lot  and  building  and 
several  hundred  dollars  for  the  support  of  the  mission- 
ary. 

But  that  the  action  of  the  brethren  was  only  done  in  a 
jest,  or  as  a  practical  joke  is  evident  from  the  fact  that 
the  only  one  who  honored  his  pledge  was  Mr.  Samuel 
H.  Jarden  an  Elder  in  the  Green  Hill  Church,  who 
pledged  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  and  he  cashed 
his  pledge  as  soon  as  we  were  ready  for  it,  and  followed 
it  up  with  other  subscriptions.  Our  first  sermon,  Octo- 
ber, I4th,  1879,  was  from  the  text:  "The  Son  of  man 
is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost."  (Luke 
xix:io.) 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  CONCLUSIONS   REACHED  AFTER  A   CAREFUL 
CANVASS  OF  THE   FIELD. 

The  conclusions  reached  after  a  most  careful  and 
painstaking  canvass,  for  three  months  were  these: 

First.  That  there  was  a  large  number  of  colored  people 
in  this  section  of  the  city,  not  less  than  six  thousand. 

Second.  That  a  large  majority  of  the  people  did  not 
attend  any  church. 

Third.  That  many  of  those  who  were  members  of  the 
Methodist  and  Baptist  Churches  did  not  attend. 

Fourth.  That  there  was  only  one  small  Methodist  Mis- 
sion within  the  field,  the  Morris  Brown,  on  the  corner  of 
Vineyard  and  Poplar  streets. 

Fifth.  That  while  there  was  no  special  interest  mani- 
fested in  the  establishment  of  a  Presbyterian  Church 
among  them,  they  exhibited  no  spirit  of  opposition  to  it, 
while  so  far  as  the  non  church  goers  were  concerned, 
they  seemed  to  be  as  much  interested  in  a  Presbyterian 
Church  as  any  others. 

Sixth.  That  while  the  people  were  generally 
poor,  yet  in  point  of  intelligence  and  morals 
they  compared  favorably  with  their  neighbors, 
and  from  reliable  information  they  were  equally  as  law 
abiding  and  orderly.  In  the  slum  districts,  of  which 
there  were  several  in  the  field,  there  were  to  be  seen  the 
same  depths  of  vice  and  degradation,  which  are  to  be 
met  with  in  all  such  districts,  but  outside  of  these  the 
people  were  in  a  hopeful  condition  to  be  reached  and 
brought  into  the  church. 

Seventh.  That  there  was  a  demand  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Presbyterian  Church  among  the  colored  peo- 
ple in  this  part  of  the  city. 

27 


28  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

ist.  Because  there  were  not  sufficient  church  fa- 
cilities in  the  district,  to  accommodate  the  people,  there 
being  but  one  little  Methodist  Mission,  while  there  were 
not  less  than  six  thousand  people,  which  number  has 
very  much  increased  since  then.  2nd.  The  estab- 
lishment of  a  Presbyterian  Church  among  the  colored 
people  in  this  part  of  the  city  was  not  so  much  demand- 
ed by  the  expressed  will  of  the  people  as  it  was  by  their 
condition,  for  there  was  no  church  better  fitted  to  meet 
the  wants  of  the  people  than  this  church.  There  was 
no  church  more  able  to  lift  the  people  upon  a  higher 
plane  and  make  out  of  them  good  and  reliable  citizens. 
The  people  needed  the  Presbyterian  Church  because 
of  its  elevated  standard,  the  prominence  it  gives  to  edu- 
cation, its  demand  for  a  pure  and  undefiled  religion,  its 
insistance  upon  a  pure,  sanctified  and  cultivated  minis- 
try, its  doctrine  of  the  perseverance  of  the  saints,  and 
the  spirit  of  independence,  dignitv  and  Godlv  manhood 
it  inculcates  in  all  who  heartily  espouse  its  teachings. 

Eighth.  While  we  were  convinced  that  there  was  a 
demand  for  the  establishment  of  a  Presbvterian  Church 
among  the  colored  people  in  this  part  of  the  city  we  saw 
however,  that  to  accomplish  it  there  would  be  required 
herculean  efforts. 

ist.  There  was  no  money  to  support  the  missionary 
and  pay  the  light  and  fuel  of  the  mission  much  less  to 
purchase  a  lot  and  put  up  a  church  building.  The  peo- 
ple were  all  poor,  most  of  them  very  poor,  and  there 
was  no  Presbyterial  fund  upon  which  to  draw.  All  that 
we  received  during  the  three  months  was  our  board, 
which  was  given  by  Dr.  Reeve  and  a  pair  of  boots  bv  the 
people,  as  a  Christmas  present. 

2nd.  The  apathy  of  the  Presbytery  had  to  be  over- 
come by  arousing  them  to  the  importance  of  the  work. 
Mission  work  had  been  so  long  neglected  among  the 
colored  people  that  the  Presbyteries  had  almost  lost 
sight  of  them,  and  they  were  very  ignorant  as  to  their 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  29 

real  wants  and  condition.  All  that  many  of  the  most 
intelligent  Presbyterian  laymen  in  the  city  knew  of  the 
colored  people  was  what  they  saw  and  could  learn  from 
the  colored  help  in  their  families,  by  whom  they  were 
often  misled,  while  the  minister  knew  practically  noth- 
ing about  them,  not  even  the  condition  of  those  who 
lived  in  the  little  streets  under  the  very  eaves  of  their 
churches.  That  there  were  exceptions  we  admit,  but 
this  was  generally  the  state  of  feeling  when  we  began 
our  work. 

3rd.  The  apathy  of  the  colored  people  also  had  to 
be  overcome.  In  saying  that  we  saw  a  demand  for  the 
establishing  of  a  Presbyterian  Church  among  the  color- 
ed people,  we  do  not  for  a  moment  mean  to  imply  that 
they  were  anxious  and  eager  to  have  such  a  church 
planted  among  them  and  were  standing  ready  to  do  all 
in  their  power  to  sustain  it,  not  by  any  means;  such  a 
state  of  feeling  can  only  be  seen  among  the  heathen 
as  they  were  represented  in  the  poetic  pictures  in  the 
old  missionary  reports,  where  they  were  seen  peering 
far  out  over  the  sea  begging  the  ships  to  bring  them 
missionaries.  There  was  a  demand  for  the  church,  but 
as  has  been  explained  it  was  demanded  by  the  condition 
and  wants  of  the  colored  people.  They  themselves  were 
for  the  most  part  indifferent,  if  anything  prejudiced, 
not  so  much  towards  the  establishment  of  this  particular 
church,  but  towards  the  Presbyterian  Church  generally, 
and  this  prejudice  was  inherited,  being  associated  in 
their  minds  with  the  church  which  encouraged  slavery, 
also,  as  being  cold,  aristocratic,  pharisaical,  and  which 
had  no  use  for  the  Nego  more  than  to  use  him  as  a  ser- 
vant. This  spirit  would  have  to  be  overcome  before 
there  would  be  any  marked  success,  as  well  as  their 
spirit  of  general  indifference  towards  all  church  work, 
resulting  largely  from  the  spirit  of  neglect  and  in- 
difference, which  would  have  to  be  grappled  with  before 
the  banner  of  success  could  be  unfurled.  The  home  tie 


30  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

needed  to  be  more  tightly  cemented  and  a  greater  spirit 
of  thrift  and  economy  instilled.  It  would  be  necessary 
therefore  not  only  to  instruct  along  all  the  different  lines 
of  church  work,  but  in  everything  that  would  tend  to 
the  upbuilding  of  a  noble  manhood  and  womanhood, 
as  industry,  economy  frugality,  temperance,  and  godli- 
ness, and  these  would  have  to  be  taught  as  all  success- 
ful church  work  is  taught  not  so  much  by  precept,  as  by 
practical  example.  Having  reached  these  conclusions 
after  a  most  careful  painstaking  canvass  of  the  field  for 
three  months,  we  concluded  to  remain  and  enter  upon 
the  work  as  a  permanency,  and  to  put  forth  every  ex- 
ertion making  use  of  every  legitimate  means  to  establish 
presbyterianism  among  the  colored  people  in  this  part 
of  Philadelphia. 

Our  first  effort  was  to  effect  as  speedily  as  possible 
the  organization  of  the  mission  into  a  church,  as  this 
was  advised  by  some  in  order  to  secure  both  confidence 
in  and  permanency  to  the  work. 

COMMITTEE  APPOINTED   BY   PRESUYTERY. 

Accordingly  on  the  3rd,  of  May  1880,  a  committee 
consisting  of  the  Missionary,  Rev.  M.  Anderson,  Messrs. 
Wm.  W.  Still,  John  Payn,  Seth  J.  Clark,  Gilbert  Brown, 
and  Joseph  Nichols  were  appointed  to  meet  the 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Central,  to  convene 
at  the  George  Chandler  Mission,  now  Beacon 
Church,  with  a  petition  from  the  Gloucester  Mis- 
sion, which  was  signed  by  upward  of  two  hundred 
petitioners  praying  that  the  mission  be  organized  into  a 
Presbyterian  church.  Afer  hearing  the  petition,  and  the 
commissioners  it  was  unanimously  agreed  by  the  Pres- 
bytery to  send  a  committee  to  the  mission  and  if  the  way 
were  clear  to  organize  it  into  a  church.  The  following 
committee  was  appointed:  Reverends  Samuel  A.  Mutch- 
more,  D.  D.,  W.  D.  Nicholas,  D.  D.,  and  L.  Y.  Graham, 
D.  D.,  Elders  John  B.  Stevenson  and  Wm.  E.  Camp. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  31 

ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  BEREAN   CHURCH. 

The  committee  met  at  the  mission  on  the  loth  of  the 
following  June  and  after  examining  the  letters  and  hear- 
ing the  professions  of  those  who  desired  to  come 
into  the  organization,  they  organized  the  mission  into 
the  Berean  Presbyterian  Church,  consisting  of  twenty- 
six  members,  thirteen  by  letter  and  thirteen  on  confes- 
sion of  faith.  The  name  "Berean"  was  sugggested  by 
the  writer  and  adopted  by  the  mission  in  a  congrega- 
tional meeting  as  the  name  to  be  given  the  new  church. 
The  organization  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  W. 
D.  Nicholas,  D.  D. 

The  following  persons  came  into  the  organization  and 
therefore  they  were  the  founders  of  the,  new  church. 
Miss  Lucetta  Amos,  Mrs.  Louisa  Knight, 

Mr.  Gilbert  Brown,  Miss  Lizzie  King,* 

Mrs.  Emma  E.  Brown,*       Miss  Emma  King, 
Miss  Phoebe  Brown,*  Miss  Susan  Millen, 

Miss  Mary  Brown,*  (Sheridan.) 

Mr.  John  Butler,*  Mr.  Joseph  Nichols,* 

Mrs.  Flora  Cottman,  Mrs.  Milizena  Nichols, 

Mrs.  Catharine  Davis,  Mr.  John  Payn, 

Mrs.  Caroline  Fountain,       Mrs.  Margaret  Payn, 
Miss  Anna  Gray,  Miss  Susan  Thompson, 

Miss  Ida  Harvey,  Mrs.  Letitia  Thomas,* 

(Mrs.  Henderson.)  Mrs.  Jane  Thompson,* 
Mrs.  Anna  Henson,  Miss  Margaret  Taylor, 

Mrs.  Ellen  Johnson,  Mrs.  Mary  J.  Turner, 

The  Philadelphia  "Ledger"  of  June  I2th,  1880,  spoke 
thus  of  the  new  church:  "Berean  Presbyterian 
Church."  "This  will  be  the  title  of  what  has  been  here- 
tofore known  as  the  Gloucester  Presbyterian  colored 
mission,  it  having  been  last  night  organized  into  a 
church  under  the  auspices  of  a  committee  representing 
the  Philadelphia  Central  Presbytery.  The  organization 
sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  W.  D.  Nicholas,  D.  D. 

*Deceased. 


32  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

The  new  congregation  which  will  consist  of  twenty-six 
communicants  will  be  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Mat- 
thew Anderson  and  will  worship  in  Milton  hall  until 
able  to  build  a  church.  There  is  enough  money  sub- 
scribed to  pay  the  running  expenses  and  to  allow  the 
minister  a  salary  of  $300  per  year." 

CALL  ACCEPTED  AND  THE  PASTOR  INSTALLED. 

Having  accepted  a  unanimous  call  from  the  new 
church  to  become  its  pastor,  on  the  nth  of  July,  1880, 
the  writer  was  installed  over  the  church  by  the  follow- 
ing committee  representing  the  Presbytery  of  Philadel- 
phia Central.  Rev.  Wm.  R.  Work,  who  presided,  Rev. 
Charles  F.  Diver,  who  preached  the  accustomed  sermon, 
Rev.  G.  L.  Wiswell  D.  D.,  who  delivered  the  charge 
to  the  pastor,  and  Rev.  L.  Y.  Graham,  D.  D.,  the  charge 
to  the  people. 

The  audience  was  large  and  appreciative  and  all  went 
to  their  homes  happy  and  delighted.  The  salary  was 
to  be  seven  hundred  dollars.  Three  hundred  dollars  to 
be  raised  by  the  church,  and  four  hundred  by  the  Board 
of  Home  Missions. 

Missions  and  churches  as  individuals  have  their  sea- 
sons of  temptation  and  trial.  The  season  of  trial  to 
the  Gloucester  Mission  was  when  in  a  transition  period 
from  a  mission  to  a  church.  Never  have  we  passed 
through  a  more  fiery  ordeal,  and  our  prayer  is  that  we 
may  never  have  a  similar  experience.  It  is  an  old  and 
true  saying  that,  "an  open  enemy  is  better  than  a  de- 
ceitful friend."  For  the  one  fights  us  boldly  in  front, 
and  we  know  what  to  expect,  while  the  other  fights  from 
behind,  under  cover  and  under  no  circumstances  would 
face  us  in  open  battle.  There  were  those  who  professed 
to  be  deeply  interested  in  us  and  our  work,  and  who  said 
and  did  many  things  in  our  presence  which  lead  us  to 
think  them  sincere,  but  who  were  personally  opposed 
to  us  and  using  all  their  influence  under  cover  to  cripple 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  33 

our  efforts.  But  we  thought  them  honest.  We  took 
them  at  their  word  and  supposed  them  sincere.  And 
we  would  never  have  been  any  wiser  if  there  had  not  been 
a  most  radical  reversion  of  feeling  towards  the  mission 
and  our  work  on  the  part  of  some  who  had  been  our 
warmest  and  most  substantial  friends,  and  who  when 
asked  the  cause  of  their  change  of  sentiment  were  frank 
enough  to  say  that  they  had  been  advised  not  to  work 
in  the  interest  of  the  mission  and  its  missionary  as  he 
was  in  the  way  of  the  consolidation  of  the  First  African 
Presbyterian  Church  and  the  mission,  and  personal 
friends  of  theirs  who  in  their  judgment  were  better  quali- 
fied to  build  up  the  work,  and  they  told  us  who  those 
advisers  were. 

To  say  that  we  were  hurt,  only  mildly  expresses  it,  we 
were  wounded  to  the  heart,  mangled,  bleeding,  and  our 
suffering  was  intense.  If  we  had  been  literally  pierced  to 
the  heart  and  our  body  mangled  and  covered  with  our  life 
blood  we  could  not  have  experienced  more  intense  suf- 
fering then  when  this  revelation  was  made.  We  had  en- 
tered upon  the  work  of  the  Gloucester  Mission  with  the 
purest  of  motives,  no  one  could  have  labored  more  hon- 
estly and  with  purer  motives.  We  had  but  one  object 
in  view  and  that  was  to  assist  in  the  advancement  of  the 
Redeemer's  Kingdom  by  raising  the  standard  of  the 
colored  people  of  Philadelphia  and  the  land,  to  a  higher 
plane,  the  instrument  being,  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  we  were  ready  to  put  forth  every  exertion,  undergo 
any  trial  to  accomplish  this  end.  But  we  had  made  no 
calculation  for  deception,  we  had  no  thought  of  being 
assailed  by  weapons  of  hypocrisy,  and  therefore  we  were 
most  illy  prepared  for  the  conflict,  and  if  we  had  not  had 
our  feet  fixed  firmly  upon  the  Rock,  and  wore  as  our 
sheet  anchor  the  breast  plate  of  faith,  we  would  most 
assuredly  have  been  overcome  and  conquered.  But 
faith  saved  us.  The  storm  spent  itself,  the  billows 
ceased  and  there  was  a  great  calm. 
3 


34  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

It  might  be  interesting  to  remark  that  one  of  the 
brethren,  who  was  being  secretly  urged  to  supplant  us  in 
the  work  of  the  Gloucester!  Mission,  afterwards  brought 
disgrace  upon  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  who  when  finding  that  he  was  about  to  be  ex- 
communicated left,  and  united  with  a  sister  branch  of 
the  church,  where  he  is  laboring  to-day.  And  it  might 
be  also  interesting  to  note  that  the  friends  who  did  the 
most  to  defend  us  in  this,  one  of  our  greatest  trials,  were 
our  friend  and  seminary  classmate,  Rev.  W.  D.  Nicholas, 
D.  D.,  and  Rev.  R.  D.  Harper  of  the  North  Broad  Street 
Presbyterian  Church,  also,  Rev.  Charles  F.  Diver. 

But  we  are  happy  to  say  that  all  who  opposed  us  then 
are  our  friends  now.  Time  the  great  healer  and  cor- 
rector of  differences  has  made  us  to  see  eye  to  eye,  and 
to  become  purer,  holier,  wiser  more  Christlike. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
CORRECTNESS  OF  THE  CONCLUSIONS  REACHED. 

The  foregoing  conclusions  having  been  reached  after 
three  months  most  careful  canvass  and  study  of  the  field, 
the  people  and  their  needs,  we  commenced  work,  and  by 
them  we  have  been  actuated  in  all  our  endeavors  to  build 
up  the  Master's  Kingdom  in  this  field  from  the  beginning 
to  the  present,  •  and  we  have  not  had  reason  to  change 
our  opinion  in  a  single  instance,  or  to  see  that  we  have 
taken  a  single  step  in  which  we  were  not  led  by  a  higher 
hand,  or  to  loose  our  faith  in  one  iota  in  the  ultimate  suc- 
cess of  the  work ;  and  we  feel  that  the  success  which  has 
already  attended  .it  is  sufficient  to  convince  any  fair 
minded  man,  not  only,  of  the  ultimate  success  of  the 
church  but  of  the  correctness  of  the  methods  employed. 

For  example,  we  entered  upon  the  work  the  I4th  of 
October,  1879,  without  any  stipulation  as  to  salary,  the 
people  had  nothing  to  give,  the  few  who  constituted  the 
mission  could  not  do  more  than  pay  the  ten  dollars  rent 
for  the  hall  a  month.  At  the  end  of  three  months 
they  agreed  to  pay  as  a  salary  $10  per  month, 
on  this  we  lived  for  eight  months,  paying  five 
dollars  a  month  rent,  for  a  room,  and  boarding  our- 
selves with  the  balance,  for  days  living  on  one  meal  a 
day.  In  the  mean  time  the  mission  was  taken  under 
the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Central  and 
organized  into  a  church,  a  pastor  was  called  and  in- 
stalled, and  the  church  authorized  to  move  forward  to 
raise  ten  thousand  dollars  for  a  lot  and  church  building. 

It  might  be  interesting  to  state  here,  that  when  this 
permission  was  given  that  the  Presbytery  almost  to  a 
man  had  no  faith  whatever  that  it  would  ever  be  ac- 

35 


36  PRESBYTER IANISM. 

complished,  it  was  simply  considered  as  the  easiest  way 
to  get  rid  of  a  bug  bear  which  they  did  not  care  to 
tackle.  For  even  though  it  was  passed  unanimously, 
most  of  the  brethren  looked  upon  it  as  a  practical  joke 
and  smiled  most  significantly  at  their  action.  But  if 
the  Presbytery  expected  failure  we  did  not,  to  us  suc- 
cess was  absolutely  certain,  though  we  knew  to  be  suc- 
cessful it  would  require  the  most  strenuous  efforts  on  our 
part. 

When  a  boy  on  the  farm  we  found  that  our  work  was 
never  so  irksome  when  we  set  apart  a  certain  amount 
to  do  with  a  given  time,  for  then  we  always  accomplished 
more  than  when  we  failed  to  task  ourselves;  and  the 
work  accomplished  would  always  be  more  satisfactorily 
done. 

Hence  when  we  started  out  on  the  I4th,  of  May  1881, 
to  raise  the  fund  for  a  lot  and  building,  when  Mr.  Samuel 
H.  Jarden  subscribed  $250  as  the  first  subscription,  we 
bound  ourselves  to  raise  SIX  THOUSAND  DOL- 
LARS in  two  years  from  date. 

When  the  Presbytery  and  the  incredulous  friends 
learned  what  we  had  done  they  smiled  the  more. 

But  on  the  I4th  of  May,  1883,  we  had  not  only  suc- 
ceeded in  having  the  six  thousand  dollars  subscribed, 
but  every  cent  of  it  was  paid  over,  and  a  lot  purchased, 
and  a  beautiful,  substantial  and  well  appointed  blue  mar- 
ble church  in  the  course  of  erection  on  South  College 
avenue,  between  ipth  and  2Oth  streets. 

ENTERED   THE  NEW   CHURCH.      EXERCISES   EXTENDED 
THROUGHOUT  THE   MONTH. 

The  church  was  entered  by  the  congregation  on  the 
2nd  of  November,  1884,  there  having  been  raised  in  that 
time  over  ten  thousand  dollars,  leaving  a  debt  of  over 
eighteen  thousand  dollars. 

At  the  opening  of  the  new  church  the  sermon  was 
preached  by  the  Rev.  Wm.  M.  Paxton,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  37 

Prof,  of  Ecclesiastical,  Homiletical  and  Pastoral  Theol- 
ogy at  Princeton,  an  old  frined. 

The  opening  services  were  carried  through  the  month 
of  November  and  were  participated  in  by  the  clergy  of 
the  city  white  and  colored  and  also  by  prominent  clergy 
of  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  such  as  Rev.  Marvin  R. 
Vincent,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Henry  J.  Vandyke,  D.  D.,  who  had 
been  a  class  mate  at  Princeton,  Rev.  Howard  Crosby, 
D.  D.,  and  Rev.  Theodore  D.  Cuyler,  of  Brooklyn.  The 
meetings  were  almost  interesting,  and  the  audience  ap- 
preciative throughout. 

-  The  Philadelphia  "Ledger"  of  November  3rd,  1884, 
had  the  following  in  reference  to  the  new  church:  "The 
pretty  new  church  building  of  the  Berean  colored  Pres- 
byterian Congregation  on  South  College  avenue  was 
opened  to  public  services  yesterday  morning.  The 
opening  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  William  M.  Pax- 
ton,  D.  D.,  of  Princeton  Seminary.  Addresses  were  de- 
livered by  District  Attorney  Graham,  who  made  an  ap- 
peal for  contributions  and  by  Dr.  E.  H.  Nevin,  who 
commended  the  zeal  and  enterprise  displayed  by  the  con- 
gregation in  erecting  such  an  attractive  house  of  worship. 
An  informal  meeting  was  held  in  the  afternoon,  at  which 
Rev.  R.  D.  Harper,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  North  Broad 
Street  Presbyterian  Church  presided.  The  services  were 
opened  by  the  singing  of  a  hymn,  written  for  the  occa- 
sion by  Rev.  Alfred  Nevin  D.  D.,  L.L.  D.,  after  which 
there  were  several  short  addresses. 

The  pastor  Rev.  Matthew  Anderson  read  a  brief  his- 
torical account  of  the  formation  of  the  church  which 
is  the  outgrowth  of  the  Gloucester  Presbyterian  Mission, 
founded  on  the  first  Sabbath  in  January.  1878  in  Mil- 
ton Hall,  1914  Fairmount  avenue,  by  the  Lombard 
Street  Central  Presbyterian  Church,  colored,  Rev.  Arm- 
strong, then  of  Lincoln  University  being  the  first  mis- 
sionary. 


3«  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

"In  October,  1879,  Mr.  Anderson  took  charge  of  it, 
and  on  June  nth,  1880,  it  was  regularly  organized  as  a 
church  and  he  became  its  pastor.  In  the  following  year 
the  congregation  began  to  raise  a  building  fund  and 
on  the  i6th  of  September,  1883,  the  corner  stone  of  the 
new  church  was  laid.  When  completed,  it,  with  the  par- 
sonage adjoining,  will  cost  $25,000  of  which  a  little  more 
than  one-half  has  been  paid  already.  At  yesterday's  ser- 
vices, about  $1,000  were  raised  towards  paying  the  bal- 
ance. Rev.  S.  A.  Mutchmore,  D.  D.,  preached  last 
night.  The  building  operations  have  been  under  the 
supervision  of  Mr.  John  McGill,  who  is  also  Treasurer 
of  the  building  fund.  This  church  is  intended  to  supply 
all  that  district  between  Eleventh  street  and  the  Schuyl- 
kill  river,  and  Vine  street  and  Columbia  aveune.  Con- 
siderable work  remains  to  be  done  upon  the  building 
and  when  this  is  finished  and  the  debt  is  paid  it  will 
be  formally  dedicated.  When  completed  the  church  will 
have  sixteen  stained  glass  windows  presented  by  the  fol- 
lowing persons  and  organizations:  The  large  window 
in  front  presented  by  the  North  Broad  Street  Presby- 
terian Church,  in  memory  of  Mrs.  Nellie  Johns,  de- 
ceased daughter  of  Rev.  Dr.  Harper,  the  pastor:  Co- 
hocksink  Presbyterian  Sunday  School;  Walnut  Street 
Presbyterian  Sunday  School,  Arch  Street  Presbyterian 
Sunday  School;  Witherspoon  Presbyterian  Church, 
Princeton,  N.  J.,  in  memory  of  Mrs.  Flora  Stryker;  Be- 
rean  Presbyterian  Church;  First  African  Presbyterian 
Church  in  memory  of  Rev.  John  Gloucester,  its  founder; 
James  Hogg,  in  memory  of  his  father  William  Hogg; 
Rev.  J.  Agnew  Crawford,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  Falling 
Spring  Presbyterian  Church,  Chambersbtirg,  Pa.,  in 
memory  of  his  father,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wylie  Crawford, 
D.  D. ;  Mrs.  Catharine  L.  Hogg,  in  memory  of  her  hus- 
band William  Hogg,  Jr.;  Aaron  Faucett  in  memory  of 
his  grand-daughter,  Nellie  Ringold  Patterson;  Joseph 
and  Eliza  Correll  to  their  parents,  Mrs.  John  McGill,  in 


ITS  RELA  TION  TO  THE  NEGRO,  39 

memory  of  the  Pequea  Presbyterian  Church,  of  Lancas- 
ter county,  Pa.;  Mrs.  Ida  Henderson  in  memory  of 
Letitia  Thomas,  and  Rev.  Matthew  Anderson,  in 
memory  of  his  father  and  mother,  Timothy  and  Polly 
Anderson. 

"The  following  is  a  list  of  the  services  to  be  held  dur- 
ing the  month  of  November: — 

Sunday  November  2nd,  10:30  a.  m. 

Opening  sermon,  Rev.  William  M.  Paxton,  D.  D.,  of 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary. 

Address — Hon.    Geo.    S.    Graham,    District  Attorney 
of  Philadelphia,  2:30  p.  m. 

Sketch  of  the  church,  Rev.  Matthew  Anderson,  pastor. 

Short  Address — Alfred  Kevin,  D.   D.,   L.L.  D.,  and 
others  of  the  city.     Rev.  R.  D.  Harper  presided. 
7:30.  P.  M. 

Sermon — Rev.  S.  A.  Mutchmore,  D.  D.,  Philadelphia, 
Wednesday,  November  5th,  7:30  p.  m. 

Gospel  Service — Samuel  G.  Scott,  Esq.,  Philadelphia, 
Thursday,  November  6th,  7:30  p.  m. 

Sermon — Prof.  T.  McCants  Stewart,  Liberia  College, 
West  Africa,  Friday,  Nov.  7th,  7:30  p.  m. 

Sermon — Rev.  Henry  J.  Vandyke,  Jr.,   D.  D.,  New 
York  City,  Sunday,  November  gih,   10:30  a.  m. 

Sermon — Rev.  B.  T.  Tanner,  D.  D.,  Philadelphia. 
2:30  P.  M.. 

Sermon —  Rev.  John  B.  Reeve,  D.  D.,  Philadelphia. 
7:30  P.  M. 

Sermon — Rev.  J.  Addison  Henry,  D.  D.,  Philadelphia, 
Monday,  November,  loth,  7:30  p.  m. 

Sermon— Rev.  S.  W.  Dana,  D.  D.,  Philadelphia,  Tues- 
day, November  nth,  7:30  p.  m. 

Sermon— Rev.  J.  W.  Bain,  D.  D.,  Philadelphia,  Thurs- 
day, November  I3th,  7:30  p.  m. 

Sermon — Rev.    B.    L.    Agnew,    D.    D.,    Philadelphia, 
Sunday,  November  i6th,  10:30  a.  m. 

Sermon — Rev.  Matthew  Newkirk,  D.  D.,  Philadelphia, 


40  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

2:30  P.  M. 

Sermon — Rev.  E.  H.  Nevin,  D.  D.,  Philadelphia. 
7:30  P.  M. 

Sermon — Rev.  J.  A.  Crawford,  D.  D.,  Chambersbtirg 
Pa.,  Tuesday,  November  i8th,  7:30  p.  m. 

Sermon — Rev.  Howard  Crosby.  D.  D.,  New  York 
City,  Thursday,  November  2oth,  7:30  p.  m. 

Sermon — Rev.  R.  D.  Harper,  D.  D.,  Philadelphia, 
Friday,  November,  2ist  7:30  p.  m. 

Sermon— Rev.  G.  F.  Wiswell,  D.  D.,  Philadelphia, 
Sunday,  November  23rd,  10:30  a.  m. 

Sermon — Rev.  Albert  S.  Mays,  Philadelphia. 
2:30  P.  M.. 

Sermon— Rev.  Alfred  Nevin,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Phila- 
delphia. 

7:30  P.  M. 

Sermon — Rev.  R.  T.  Jones,  D.  D.,  Philadelphia, 
Thursday,  November  27th,  10:30  a.  m. 

Thanksgiving  Sermon — Rev.  Matthew  Anderson,  pas- 
tor, Friday,  November  28th,  7:30  p.  m. 

Sermon — Rev.  Reading  B.  Johns,  New  York  City, 
Sunday,  November  3Oth,  10:30  a.  m. 

Sermon — Rev.  Mahlon  VanHorn,  New  Port,   R.   I., 
7:30  P.  M. 

Sacred  Concert  With  Short  Addresses — By  Rev. 
Mahlon  VanHorn,  Reading  B.  Johns  and  others." 

THE  SUCCESS   OF  THE   ENTERPRISE. 

The  growth  in  membership  has  been  necessarily  slow 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  pastor  was  compelled  to  de- 
vote his  time  largely  to  the  raising  of  money  for  the 
debt,  yet  there  has  been  a  steady  growth  in  the  con- 
gregation and  membership.  The  present  number  of 
members  being  ninety  eight  while  the  congregation  in- 
cluding the  active  membership  numbers  three  hundred 
and  upwards. 

The  Sabbath  School  has  an  enrollment  of  150  scholars. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  41 

THE   BEREAN  WOMEN'S   CHRISTIAN  TEMPERANCE  UNION. 

The  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union  is  a  new 
organization  which  was  commenced  some  two  years  ago. 
This  society  now  numbers  over  sixty  members  and  it  is 
doing  a  most  aggressive  work  along  their  particular 
lines.  Meetings  are  held  regularly.  The  children  and 
young  people  are  formed  in  classes  and  instructed  in 
Temperance  principles.  Mother's  meetings  are  held 
and  lectures  given  on  temperance  subjects  by  distin- 
guished temperance  workers. 

The  ordinary  services  of  the  church,  preaching  morn- 
ing and  evening,  and  Sabbath  School  on  Sabbath  after- 
noons also  the  weekly  prayer  meetings,  Wednesday  and 
Friday  evenings  have  all  been  regularly  kept  up.  The 
church  is  rarely  closed,  but  is  open  winter  and  summer 
from  one  end  of  the  year  to  the  other. 

THE   BEREAN   CHRISTIAN   ENDEAVOR. 

A  Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  was 
organized  several  years  ago.  It  has  an  enrollment  of 
forty  members  and  is  doing  a  most  excellent  work  along 
the  lines  laid  down  by  the  orgaization.  For  the  last 
three  years  this  society  has  sent  a  delegate  to  the  Na- 
tional Convention.  One  Year  ago  they  sent  two  dele- 
gates. They  hold  their  weekly  meeting  on  Sabbath  eve- 
ning from  7  to  8  o'clock. 

THE  BEREAN   PUBLIC   KINDERGARTEN. 

A  kindergarten  school  was  commenced  in  the  spring 
of  1884  and  for  ten  years  it  has  been  sustained  wholly 
by  private  contribution.  The  teacher  working  most  of 
the  time  without  regular  stipulation,  receiving  three, 
five,  ten,  fifteen  and  twenty  dollars  a  month  as  the  case 
might  be.  The  parents  being  charged  the  nominal  sum 
of  (25)  twenty-five  cents  a  month  for  each  child.  This 
school  has  since  been  taken  under  the  care  of  the  Board 
of  Public  Instruction,  which  pays  the  teacher  a  salary 


42  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

of  forty-seven  and  a  half  dollars  monthly,  and  the  church 
a  rental  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  year  for  the 
use  of  the  room. 

The  amount  of  good  that  this  school  is  doing  can 
never  be  calculated  in  this  life.  Most  of  the  children 
are  from  families  whose  mothers  are  poor,  hard  working 
women,  many  of  them  compelled  to  go  out  to  do  day's 
work,  hence  to  have  their  little  ones  away  from  the  evil 
surrounding  of  their  homes,  if  only  for  a  few  hours,  is  a 
great  boon.  Besides  the  assistance  it  gives  the  weary 
mothers,  living  often  in  squalor  at  home  too  often  be- 
cause of  the  dissipation  of  a  drunken  husband,  or  sur- 
rounded by  the  same  in  the  streets  in  which  she  is 
compelled  to  live,  to  have  their  little  ones  for  three 
hours,  five  days  in  a  week  enjoy  bright,  cheerful,  and 
happy  surroundings,  and  instructed  by  an  earnest  Chris- 
tian kindergartener  who  enters  enthusiastically  into  the 
spirit  of  the  Froeble  system  is  not  only  an 
incalcuble  blessing  to  the  families  from  which  these 
children  come  but  to  mankind  and  Christ. 

Already  good  results  of  the  school  are  seen,  in  the 
bright,  cheerful  and  promising  youths  who  receive  their 
first  bend  in  the  right  direction  in  the  Berean  Kinder- 
garten School.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  have  moth- 
ers confess  to  their  being  reprimanded  for  using  words, 
and  doing  acts,  or  neglecting  duties,  by  their  little  tots, 
who  go  to  the  kindergarten  school,  who  tell  them,  that 
teacher  says  that  such  and  such  things  are  wrong. 

THE  BEREAN  BUILDING  AND  LOAN  ASSOCIATION. 

A  Building  and  Loan  Association  was  organized  on  the 
I2th  of  February  i8&&  which  has  for  its  object  the  en- 
couragement of  the  colored  people  to  save  their  money 
with  the  view  of  securing  homes  for  themselves.  Iso- 
lated and  divided  as  the  colored  people  have  been,  and 
are  still  to  a  great  extent,  the  direct  result  of  the  bane- 
ful effects  of  their  schooling  under  a  slave  system,  to- 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  43 

gcther  with  the  existing  feeling  of  prejudice,  makes  it 
almost  impossible  for  them  to  get  desirable  homes  to 
rent,  much  less  purchase,  therefore  their  condition  re- 
mains the  same  from  year  to  year. 

The  good  and  bad,  the  law  abiding  and  criminals,  the 
refined  and  vicious  were  compelled  by  force  of  circum- 
stances over  which  they  had  but  little  control,  to  live  in 
the  same  streets,  be  surrounded  by  the  same  destructive 
influences,  and  classed  on  the  same  level,  by  those  who 
write  up  or  describe  the  communities  in  which  they  live. 
The  discouraging  effect  which  this  condition  of  things 
has  upon  the  people  and  on  all  endeavor  work  among 
them  can  well  be  imagined;  by  it,  aspiration  is  shorn 
of  its  wings,  ambition  loses  its  fire,  and  energy  falls  to 
the  ground.  It  is  because  of  this  discouraging  condi- 
tion of  things  that  there  is  not  seen  in  the  colored  church 
the  same  spirit  of  self-sacrificing  love,  aggressive  energy, 
and  pride  of  home,  church  and  country,  which  character- 
izes other  people  and  their  churches,  and  it  is  this  more 
than  any  other  cause,  which  makes  it  so  hard  for  their 
ministers  to  carry  on  intelligent,  practical,  aggressive 
work  among  them. 

To  assist  in  bringing  about  a  better  condition  of  things 
the  Berean  Building  and  Loan  Association  was  organ- 
ized, which  has  secured  for  the  colored  people  in  less 
than  nine  years,  forty-three  homes,  and  whose  assets 
are  over  fifty-two  thousand  dollars.  These  homes  are 
all  inviting,  on  good  streets,  and  in  different  parts  of  the 
city.  Nothing  that  has  been  started  in  connection  with 
our  work  has  had  a  greater  leverage  in  lifting  the  peo- 
ple to  a  higher  plane  and  has  given  them  greater  hope 
for  the  future,  than  has  this  society,  not  even  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Gospel  on  the  Sabbath.  No,  for  this  is 
preaching  the  Gospel  most  practically. 

It  is  not  the  Gospel  ephemeralized,  if  I  may  be  per- 
mitted to  use  the  term,  but  materalized  in  the  lives  of 
the  people;  it  is  the  Gospel  which  has  been  preached 
to  the  Anglo  Saxon  for  the  last  five  hundred  years,  and 


44  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

it  is  the  Gospel  which  the  Negro  needs  and  must  have, 
if  he  would  secure  the  stamina  of  life  with  which  to 
stand.  Already  there  can  be  seen  a  most  noticeable  dif- 
ference in  the  general  bearing  of  those  who  have  money 
in  the  association  and  are  paying  for  their  homes,  and 
those  who  have  not,  but  are  still  living  from  hand  to 
mouth,  and  even  in  themselves  personally,  when  first 
they  united  with  the  association,  and  now,  when  many 
of  them  have  their  homes  more  than  half  paid  for;  there 
is  a  sparkle  in  the  eye,  an  elasticity  in  the  step,  and  a 
manliness  in  the  speech  which  was  not  noticeable  at  first. 
These  three  hundred  men  who  belong  to  the  Berean 
Building  and  Loan  Association  are  being  transformed 
into  new  men,  and  consequently  they  are  making-  better 
parents,  better  Christians  in  the  church,  better  mem- 
bers of  the  community,  better  citizens  of  the  state  and 
of  the  body  politic. 

THE  BEREAN   COTTAGE. 

The  Berean  Cottage  at  Point  Pleasant,  New  Jersey, 
was  given  to  the  church  by  the  philanthropy  of  Mrs. 
M.  M.  Barber,  of  Philadelphia,  to  be  used  as  a  sum- 
mer resort,  where  colored  persons  can  be  accommo- 
dated with  good  subtantial  board,  at  a  moderate  price, 
and  at  the  same  time  have  all  the  comforts  and  advan- 
tages of  a  first-class  home,  without  being  subjected  to 
insults,  insinuations,  and  refusals,  which  they  meet  with, 
at  nearly  every  summer  resort  in  this  country.  The 
house  is  under  a  committee  of  ladies,  of  which  the  donor 
is  one,  and  an  advisory  board  of  influential  men  and 
women  of  both  races.  The  property  including  the  fur- 
niture is  valued  at  six  thousand  dollars.  Its  general  ap- 
pearance and  appointments  are  excellent,  and  situated 
as  it  is  on  New  York  avenue,  only  a  square  from  the 
beach,  it  presents  a  most  commanding  and  inviting  view. 
For  the  last  two  seasons  Bible  readings  have  been  con- 
ducted on  Friday  afternoons,  between  the  hours  of  four 
and  five  o'clock  in  the  parlors  of  the  cottage.  This  last 


ITS  RELATION  TO   THE  NEGRO.  45 

season  (the  summer  of  1896)  in  addition  to  the  Bible 
readings,  lectures  were  given  on  practical  every  day 
subjects,  between  the  same  hours  Tuesday  afternoons. 
The  following  persons  had  papers:  Rev.  W.  L.  Cun- 
ningham, D.  D.,  pastor,  Point  Pleasant  Presbyterian 
Church.  Subject — How  to  study  the  Bible. 

Mrs.  Helen  Crawford,  sister  of  the  donor,  Philadel- 
phia. Subject — Women  of  the  Bible. 

Miss  Eva  Hood  of  Washington,  D.  C.  Subject — 
The  Life  of  Moses. 

Rev.  Alexander  Crummell,  D.  D.,  of  Washington, 
D.  C.  Subject — Thoughts  on  the  Book  of  Exodus. 

Rev.  F.  J.  Grimke,  D.  D.,  pastor  I5th  Street  Presby- 
terian Church,  Washington,  D.  C.  Subject — Thoughts 
on  the  Book  of  Exodus. 

Rev.  Matthew  Anderson,  Philadelphia.  Subject — 
The  Future  of  the  Negro. 

.Mrs.  Charlotte  L.  Grimke,  of  Washington,  D.  C. 
Subject — Personal  Recollections  of  John  G.  Whittier. 

Dr.  C.  V.  Anderson,  Philadelphia.  Subject — Hered- 
ity. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  the  management  to  make  the 
Home  in  the  highest  sense  an  ideal  Summer  Resort 
where  the  guests  will  have  every  necessary  comfort  and 
pleasure  and  at  the  same  time  be  freed  from  those  con- 
taminating and  baneful  influences,  which  are  so  com- 
mon at  watering  places. 

As  soon  as  the  funds  will  admit  an  auditorium  will 
be  put  up  in  connection  with  the  cottage,  where  Chau- 
tauqua  lectures  will  be  delivered  by  distinguished  lec- 
turers, and  where  any  may  feel  free  to  come  and  par- 
ticipate. The  cottage  is  self  sustaining,  and  the  ar- 
rangement, is  that  all  funds  over  and  above  the  repairs 
and  improvements  are  to  revert  eventually  to  the  Be- 
rean  Church. 

THE   BEREAN   BOYS'   CADET   CORPS. 

The  Berean  Boys  Cadet  Corps  has  only  recently  been 
organized  and  consists  of  twenty  boys,  ranging  from  ten 


46  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

to  sixteen  years  of  age.  The  corps  is  very  enthusiastic, 
and  we  think  when  once  they  are  able  to  secure  their 
suits  they  will  exert  no  small  influence  in  attracting  boys 
to  the  Sabbath  School  and  church.  One  of  the  condi- 
tions of  becoming  a  member  of  the  band  is  that  each 
boy  must  attend  the  Sabbath  School  and  at  least  one  of 
the  meetings  of  the  church,  weekly. 

INCREASE  OF  FUNDS. 

There. has  been  a  gradual  increase  in  the  amount  con- 
tributed each  year  towards  the  running  expenses  of  the 
church  on  the  part  of  the  congregation. 

For  example  the  whole  amount  contributed  for  the 
year  ending  August  3ist,  1895,  was  $453.61,  while  the 
whole  amount  contributed  during  the  corresponding 
period  this  year  is  $483.07,  there  being  a  gain  of  $29.48. 
This  may  be  considered  a  small  amount  for  the  people 
to  contribute  towards  the  running  expenses  of  the 
church,  including  the  minister's  salary,  but  when  there 
is  taken  into  consideration  the  circumstances  of  the  peo- 
ple, the  small  wages  they  command,  and  what  it  requires 
to  keep  their  families,  it  will  be  seen  that  they  are  really 
making  sacrifices.  Few  churches  can  show  better  results 
when  the  ability  of  the  people  is  compared,  and  when  it 
is  considered  too  that  with  the  exception  of  the  money 
received  towards  the  pastor's  salary,  from  the  recognized 
channels  of  the  church  either  the  Board  of  Home  Mis- 
sions, the  Synodical  Committee  on  Sustentation  or  the 
Committee  on  Chuch  Extension  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia,  from  which  the  largest  amount  received 
in  any  one  year  was  $500,  and  that  only  for  two  years, 
the  fact  that  the  church  with  its  pastor  has  all  these 
years  grappled  with  the  running  expenses  and  have  in  a 
large  measure  kept  them  up  ought  to  speak  volumes  in 
their  favor. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  church  not  less  than  ten 
thousand  dollars  have  been  raised  by  the  church  itself. 


CHAPTER  V. 

JUBILEE  OF  THE  COMPLETED  CHURCH  AND  CANCELLED  DEBT, 

RESUME  OF  THE  WORK  ACCOMPLISHED,   AND 

DEDICATORY   SERVICES. 

When  the  church  was  entered  in  1884,  it  was  neither 
finished  nor  furnished.  The  walls  were  unfrescoed,  the 
sittings  were  common  plain  chairs,  while  the  basement 
was  a  cellar.  After  the  money  for  the  debt  was  pro- 
vided for  on  the  24th  of  April,  1889,  we  moved  forward, 
and  finished  and  furnished  the  church  at  a  cost  of  over 
four  thousand  dollars,  which  was  raised  and  paid  off 
within  one  year,  so  that  on  the  I4th  of  May,  1891,  ten 
years  to  a  day,  from  the  time  we  secured  the  first  sub- 
scription, we  had  a  grand  jubilee  over  the  triumph  of  our 
efforts.  Friends  came  from  all  over  the  city,  and  irre- 
spective of  denominational  lines,  to  rejoice  with  us  over 
the  consummation  of  our  efforts.  Among  those  who 
made  short  adresses  on  the  occasion  was  Mr.  Wm. 
Wood,  whose  speech  consisted  in  making  a  pledge  of 
five  hundred  dollars  towards  a  parsonage,  and  it  was  this 
pledge  which  ultimately  secured  the  parsonage  for  the 
church. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  Philadelphia 
"Ledger,"  of  May  I5th,  1891,  on  the  jubilee: 

"The  Berean  Presbyterian  Church  held  a  jubilee 
thanksgiving  meeting  yesterday  afternoon  and  evening 
at  their  new  church  building,  South  College  avenue, 
above  Ridge  avenue.  The  meeting  was  held  to  cele- 
brate the  canceling  of  all  debts  of  the  church,  the  first 
subscription  for  the  building  having  been  received  on 
May  I4th,  1881.  The  new  building  is  60  feet  wide  and 
66  feet  deep,  and  cost  $32,000. 

47 


48  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

"At  the  afternoon  meeting,  Dr.  Reuel  'Stewart  pre- 
sided. Rev.  James  H.  Baird,  D.  D.,  delivered  the  in- 
vocation, and  Rev.  Dr.  T.  L.  Janeway  offered  a  prayer 
of  thanks.  The  Scriptures  were  read  by  Rev.  N.  O. 
Hawkins  and  Rev.  M.  Anderson.  The  pastor  gave  a 
brief  sketch  of  the  work  of  the  church.  Addresses  were 
then  delivered  by  Rev.  Charles  A.  Dickey,  D.  D.,  Rev. 
E.  J.  Adams,  Dr.  J.  Addison  Henry,  D.  D.,  Rev.  R.  T. 
Jones,  Rev.  J.  Richelson  and  Mr.  William  Wood. 

"After  the  addresses  a  collation  was  given  in  the  Sun- 
day School  and  reading  room. 

"In  the  evening  Rev.  M.  Anderson,  made  an  address. 
After  prayers,  addresses  were  made  by  Rev.  Alexander 
Allison,  D.  D.,  Mr.  Joseph  Clough  and  other  members 
of  the  church. 

"At  the  close  of  the  ceremonies  resolutions  were  read 
by  Dr.  Caroline  V.  Anderson,  thanking  the  many  gener- 
ous contributors,  especially  Mr.  William  Wood,  who 
has  promised  to  give  $500  towards  the  parsonage. 

"After  which  the  members  and  friends  of  the  church 
were  again  asked  to  partake  of  refreshments." 

On  the  invitation  of  a  committee  consisting  of  the 
pastor  of  the  church,  Rev.  M.  Anderson  and  Dr.  R. 
Stewart,  Chairman  of  the  Building  Committee,  the 
Philadelphia  Central  Presbytery  held  their  June  meet- 
ing in  the  Berean  Church.  Before  giving  the  invitation 
Dr.  Stewart  gave  a  report  of  the  Berean  Church,  its  lo- 
cation, style  of  building,  material  of  which  it  was  built, 
the  cost,  and  its  freedom  from  debt. 

DR.  STEWART'S   REPORT. 

The  following  is  his  report: 

"Your  committee  appointed  as  an  advisor}'  one  to 
look  after  the  interests  of  the  Berean  Presbyterian 
Church,  have  not  reported  before  this,  because  we  deem- 


MRS     MARGARKT   M.    BARBKR. 


ITS  RELATION  TO   THE  NEGRO.  49 

ed  it  best  to  defer  until  such  time  as  we  could  invite  the 
Presbytery  to  visit  and  examine  the  work  accomplished. 
This  church  received  the  first  subscription  on  May  I4th, 
1881,  and  on  March  the  25th,  1890,  the  building  and 
ground  was  free  from  all  indebtedness,  but  there  were 
no  pews,  chairs  were  being  used  for  seating  the  people. 
The  outside  needed  painting,  the  inside  required  fresco- 
ing, and  the  basement  was  simply  a  cellar;  hence,  the 
friends  of  the  church  and  your  committee  advised  Mr. 
Anderson,  the  pastor,  to  have  this  work  finished,  so  that 
we  could  report  not  progress  only,  but  absolute  com- 
pletion; this  was  done  and  to-day  we  present  to  this 
Presbytery,  a  church  and  ground  costing  ($32,240.75) 
Thirty-two  thousand,  two  hundred  and  forty  dollars  and 
seventy-five  cents  clear  of  every  penny  of  debt.  The 
church  has  been  chartered,  Trustees  elected,  and  work 
progressing,  according  to  its  adopted  By  Laws.  The 
consummation  in  ten  years  of  such  an  undertaking,  is  en- 
tirely due  to  the  indefatigable  energy,  faithfulness,  and 
perseverance  of  the  pastor,  Rev.  M.  Anderson,  who  se- 
cured the  interest  and  co-operation  of  Mr.  John  McGill, 
who  not  only  superintended  the  erection  of  the  building, 
but  directly  or  indirectly  aided  by  raising  the  sum  of 
eleven  thousand  six  hundred  and  ninety-one  dollars,  and 
sixty-eight  cents  ($11,691.68).  The  balance,  twenty 
thousand  two  hundred  and  forty-nine  dollars  and  seven 
cents,  Mr.  Anderson  obtained  by  individual  appli- 
cation from  house  to  house  and  office  to  office. 
For  its  size  we  consider  it  a  model.  The 
spiritual  work  is  represented  by  a  membership 
raised  from  twenty-six  to  ninety-five,  and  Sab- 
bath School  children  from  fifteen  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty.  There  is  a  better  attendance  on  the  church  ser- 
vices, and  the  people  though  poor  are  being  educated 
to  systematic  payments.  In  conclusion,  we  are  author- 
4 


§o  PRESH  YTERIANISM. 

ized  to  invite  the  Presbytery  to  be  present  at  the  Berean 
Church  on  May  I4th,  1891,  at  a  praise  meeting  to  cele- 
brate its  completion  and  Freedom  from  debt." 
Respectfully  submitted, 

REUEL  STEWART,  GEORGE   S.  GRAHAM, 

JOSEPH   CLOUGH,  JOHN   McGILL, 

THOMAS   WOOD,  ROBERT  GRAHAM. 

We  are  sorry  to  say  however,  that  contrary  to  the 
usual  custom  no  speeches  were  made  in  the  Presbytery 
eulogistic  of  the  work  accomplished  by  the  church,  nor 
resolutions  presented  expressive  of  the  appreciation  by 
the  Presbytery  of  the  work  effected.  We  were  sorry, 
not  because  of  ourselves,  but  because  of  the  good  effect 
it  would  have  had  upon  the  community  and  the  work 
generally. 

This,  in  a  word,  is  what  has  been  accomplished  by  the 
Berean  Presbyterian  Church  namely: 

(i.)     Organized  a  church. 

(2.)     Purchased  a  lot  147x136  feet. 

(3.)     Erected  a  blue  marble  church  60x66  feet. 

(4.)     Built  a  brick  parsonage. 

(5.)     Paid  for  the  church  and  lot  $34,000. 

(6.)  Paid  on  the  parsonage,  lot  and  improvements 
$3,500. 

(7.)     Insurance  on  house  for  five  years,  $3,000. 

(8.)     Perpetual  insurance  on  church  $10,000. 

(9.)  Mortgage  given  to  owner  of  property  at  4  per 
cent.,  $3,500. 

(10.)  Property  of  the  church  and  house  turned  over 
to  the  trustees  of  the  church. 

(n.)  Organized  a  Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union. 

(12.)  Organized  a  Young  People's  Society  of  Chris- 
tian Endeavor. 

(13.)     Opened  a  kindergarten  school. 

(14.)  Organized  a  Building  and  Loan  Association, 
by  which  43  homes  have  been  secured. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  51 

(15.)  Secured  for  a  Church  Home,  a  cottage  by  the 
sea. 

(16.)  Organized  a  Bible  Conference  and  Lecture 
Course  at  the  Berean  Cottage. 

(17.)     Organized  a  Boys'  Brigade. 

(18.)  Raised  ten  thousand  dollars  on  running  ex- 
penses or  in  all,  since  the  the  organization  of  the  church, 
over  fifty  thousand  dollars  including  everything. 

With  this  showing  can  it  be  said  that  the  Berean 
Church  is  a  failure? 

When  our  books  were  audited  the  24th  of  April  1888 
it  was  found  there  was  still  a  debt  of  ten  thousand  one 
hundred  and  forty  dollars  and  fifty-seven  cents.  Find- 
ing that  there  was  still  such  a  large  amount  we  resolved 
to  move  forward  and  lift  it  at  once,  accordingly  we 
pledged  all  who  subscribe  $100  and  upwards  not  to  hold 
them  to  their  pledges  if  the  whole  amount  of  the  debt 
were  not  raised  within  one  year  from  date,  namely,  the 
24th  of  April,  1889. 

One  year  to  a  day,  from  the  time  the  account  was 
audited,  when  we  started  to  lift  the  debt,  we  had  sub- 
scribed on  our  books  ten  thousand  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars;  ninety-three  dollars  and  forty-seven 
cents  over  and  above  the  amount  we  set  out  to  raise. 
And  on  the  24th  of  April,  1890,  the  whole  amount  was 
paid  over  and  the  debt  cancelled,  having  raised  in  all 
from  the  I4th  of  May,  1881,  twenty-eight  thousand  six 
hundred  and  ninety  dollars  and  eighty  cents. 

Having  pledged  ourselves  and  our  friends  that  we 
would  not  dedicate  the  church  until  free  from  debt,  the 
debt  being  now  cancelled,  on  the  I5th  of  June,  1890, 
the  church  was  dedicated. 

DEDICATORY  SERVICES,    SABBATH,  JUNE    15,  1890. 
In  the  morning  Rev.  Robert  McCheynne  Hogue,-  of 
Philadelphia,  preached,  assisted    by    Rev.   Reuben   H. 


52  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Armstrong,  of  Harrisburg,  and  Rev.  E.  J.  Adams,  of 
Philadelphia. 

In  the  afternoon  at  2:30  the  dedicatory  sermon 
was  preached  by  the  Rev.  William  C.  Cattell,  D.  D., 
Secretary  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Relief,  assisted 
by  the  Rev.  John  B.  Reeve,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  Lom- 
bard Street  Central  Presbyterian  Church,  short  addresses 
were  also  delivered  by  Rev.  R.  H.  Armstrong,  Robert 
A.  Edwards,  D.  D.,  rector  of  the  church  of  St.  Mathias, 
Philadelphia,  Rev.  W.  H.  Yeocum,  D.  D.  Rev.  Thomas, 
and  Rev.  H.  L.  Phillips,  rector  of  the  Church  of  Cruci- 
fixion. 

In  the  evening  there  were  addresses  by  the  Revs.  H.  C. 
McCook,  D.  D.,  of  Philadelphia,  William  D.  Robeson, 
of  Princeton,  N.  J.,  Frank  J.  Potter,  of  Cotton  Plant, 
Arkansas,  and  Mr.  Robert  C.  Odgen,  of  the  firm  of  John 
Wanamaker,  Philadelphia. 

The  meeting  lasted  over  a  week  closing  the  following 
Sabbath,  June  the  22nd,  with  a  sermon  in  the  morning 
by  Rev.  William  A.  Lynch,  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  and  at 
3:30  p.  m.,  with  a  sermon  by  Rev.  Charles 
Wood,  Germantown,  which  was  followed  by  short  ad- 
dresses by  Rev.  William  R.  Templeton,  of  Reading,  and 
Messrs.  Roberts  Patric,  John  McGill,  Dr.  Reuel  Stewart 
and  Joseph  Clough. 

In  the  evening  an  address  was*  delivered  by  the  pastor. 
Subject — The  Berean  Presbyterian  Church  and  its  Mis- 
sion. 

Short  addresses  were  also  delivered  by  Rev.  Thos.  H. 
Amos  and  Mr.  Robert  C.  Odgen. 

THE   DUTY  OF  THE   PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH   TOWARD  THE 

COLORED   PEOPLE  AND  THE  SCOPE  OF  THE 

BEREAN  CHURCH. 

The  above  was  the  subject  of  the  address  delivered  by 
Rev.  Matthew  Anderson  on  the  occasion  of  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  Berean  Presbyterian  Church  after  is  was  freed 
from  debt,  June  22nd,  1890,  which  was  as  follows: 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  53 

My  Dear  Friends: — 

It  has  been  thought  wise  and  proper  that  an  oppor- 
tunity should  be  given  those  who  have  assisted  in  the 
establishment  of  this  church,  to  see  the  results  of  their 
efforts  and  to  learn  more  fully  the  nature  and  scope  of 
the  work.  Therefore  we  have  extended  a  most  cordial 
invitation  to  all  persons  interested,  and  especially  to 
you  friend's  who  have  assisted  us  all  these  years  with 
your  means,  your  counsels  and  your  prayers  to  be  pres- 
ent with  us  on  this  occasion.  We  have  invited  you  here 
to  rejoice  with  us  over  the  completion  of  a  work  for 
which  we  have  longed,  hoped,  labored,  and  prayed, 
and  for  which  you  have  been  repeatedly  importuned  to 
give  of  your  means. 

For  the  last  nine  years  the  pastor  of  this  church  has 
devoted  his  time  almost  wholly  to  the  soliciting  of  funds 
for  the  purchase  of  a  lot  and  the  erection  of  a  church. 
How  well  he  has  succeeded,  this  beautiful  lot  and  build- 
ing may  testify,  and  we  are  happy  to  report  that  every 
cent  of  money  for  the  lot  and  church  has  been  subscribed 
and  paid  in.  It  is  true  much  larger  amounts  have 
been  raised  by  pastors  in  a  much  shorter  time,  often  in 
a  few  weeks  or  days,  as  was  the  case  of  one  of  our  sister 
churches,  where,  we  were  told  by  one  who  knew,  that 
sixty  thousand  dollars  were  subscribed  on  a  single  Sab- 
bath in  response  to  an  appeal  from  the  pulpit  by  the 
pastor;  or  as  in  the  case  of  another  when  fourteen  thou- 
sand dollars  were  raised  in  a  few  days  by  the  pastor  for 
his  Mission  Church,  and  the  whole  amount,  over  thirty 
thousand  dollars  provided  for  in  a  few  months.  But  my 
friends  the  conditions  were  entirely  different.  The  pas- 
tors referred  to  were  not  preaching  to  and  laboring 
among  a  poor  and  uninfluential  people,  neither  had  they 
prejudices  against  race  and  previous  condition,  with 
which  to  contend.  When  a  colored  man  let  him  be  min- 
ister or  layman,  goes  to  the  community,  asking  for  as- 
sistance for  any  charitable  object  whatever,  he  is  looked 


54  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

upon  generally  as  a  mere  beggar,  an  object  of  pity,  and 
not  unfrequently  of  contempt,  and  the  cause  which  he 
represents,  is  regarded  as  unworthy  of  any  thoughtful 
consideration,  and  consequently,  if  there  is  any  response, 
it  is  in  keeping  "with  the~'estimation^in  which  he  and  his 
cause  are  held,  a  mere  pittance,  that  which  is  given  to 
all  tramps  and  beggars  as  the  easiest  way  of  getting 
rid  of  a  common  nuisance,  as  well  as  a  satisfier  of  the 
conscience  which  holds  up  to  every  man  the  duty  of 
assisting  his  neighbor. 

Now  while  the  pastor  of  the  Berean  Church  has  met 
with  many  striking  exceptions  to  this  rule,  yet  his  exper- 
ience for  the  most  part  for  the  last  nine  years,  and  es- 
pecially for  the  first  five,  was  strictly  of  the  kind  to  which 
we  have  referred.  For  example,  the  subscriptions  for 
the  most  part  were  quite  small,  at  many  places,  there 
were  given  mere  verbal  promises  of  no  definite  amounts, 
which  were  seldom  honored,  while  a  large  majority  of 
the  persons  called  upon  showed  no  interest  whatever 
in  the  person  soliciting,  or  the  cause  he  represented,  and 
made  him  to  understand  by  word  or  act,  that  they  did 
not  regard  his  cause  as  worthy  of  any  serious  thought  or 
consideration,  and  therefore  that  they  had  nothing  to 
give.  Had  it  not  been  that  the  pastor  was  convinced 
of  the  worthiness  of  his  cause,  and  the  certainty  of  suc- 
cess ultimately,  and  the  fact  that  every  now  and  then, 
there  was  found  one  who  saw  the  work  as  he  saw  it,  and 
contributed  accordingly,  he  would  long  since  have  given 
up  in  despair.  But  from  the  first  he  was  convinced  that  the 
church  was  needed,  and  that  by  persevering  effort  the 
required  amount  of  money  to  pay  for  a  lot  and  building 
could  be  secured ;  therefore  he  kept  steadily  at  it  until  the 
present,  notwithstanding  that  it  took  him  nine  years  to 
do  what  many  could  have  done  in  a  few  months,  weeks, 
or  even  days. 

But  my   friends   the   cherished   object   for   which   he 
longed,  hoped  labored  and  prayed  all  these  years  has 


ITS  RELATION  TO   THE  NEGRO.  55 

been  secured.  This  beautiful  lot  has  been  purchased  and 
church  erected,  and  paid  for.  It  is  ours.  One  stake 
having  been  reached,  we  are  therefore  prepared  to  review 
the  past  and  plan  for  the  future. 

Now  in  regard  to  the  future  permit  me  to  give  what 
in  my  judgment  is  the  mission  of  the  Berean  Presby- 
terian Church.  Let  me  say  first,  that  my  conception 
of  the  work  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  among  the 
colored  people  has  not  been  changed  from  ^what 
I  have  always  held,  by  anything  I  may  have 
experienced  in  this  city,  but  it  has  been  only  more 
deeply  confirmed.  The  one  thing  above  all  others, 
which  led  me  to  choose  the  ministry  in  prefer- 
ence to  any  other  profession  was  its  comprehensive- 
ness. There  was  in  it  that  which  would  tend  to  the 
development  of  the  whole  man,  soul  and  body,  more  than 
any  profession,  consequently  in  my  judgment  a  Christian 
minister  would  be  in  a  condition  to  accomplish  more 
for  his  fellow  men  than  others.  And  since  from  my  earl- 
iest childhood,  I  had  been  made  to  feel  the  wrongs  of  the 
slave  and  the  thraldom  whjch  rested  upon  the  colored 
people,  free  and  slave,  throughout  this  country,  from 
anti-slavery  books,  papers  and  speeches  which  were  be- 
ing daily  read  in  my  family,  and  the  prayers  which  were 
offered  up  by  my  father,  I  most  naturally,  when  called 
upon  to  choose  a  profession,  chose  that  profession,  in 
which  I  could  accomplish  the  most  for  humanity  and 
especially  for  my  own  people. 

Now  from  the  conception  of  the  Gospel  ministry, 
which  I  hold,  I  could  never  believe,  that  the  work  of 
a  Gospel  minister  was  simply  preaching,  in  the  commonly 
accepted  sense  of  that  term,  but  that  it  included  every- 
thing, which  tended  to  the  development  of  the  whole 
man,  intellectual,  moral  and  spiritual ;  and  while  preach- 
ing from  the  pulpit  is  necessary  and  absolutely  essen- 
tial, yet  he  who  confines  his  labors  as  a  minister  wholly 
to  the  pulpit  is  necessarily  narrow  and  fails,  in  my  judg- 


$6  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

ment,  positively  to  comprehend  the  full  scope  of  the 
mission  which  he  has  chosen  as  his  life  calling. 

Therefore,  when  I  entered  upon  my  work  in  this  city, 
especially  when  I  started  out  with  my  subscription  book 
to  solicit  funds,  it  was  not  to  secure  a  church  in  which  I 
might  devote  the  balance  of  my  days  simply  in  the  deliv- 
ery of  sermons  on  the  Sabbath,  but  a  home  for  the  peo- 
ple, where  they  could  meet  not  only  on  the  Sabbath,  but 
at  any  time  to  receive  instruction  in  whatever  would  tend 
to  their  elevation. 

I  saw  a  people  who  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
had  been  driven  and  torn,  bought  and  sold,  treated  more 
cruelly  far,  than  ever  the  Israelites  were  by  their  Egyp- 
tian masters,  and  even  now,  notwithstanding  they  have 
enjoyed  over  twenty  five  years  of  freedom,  being  mem- 
bers of  the  state  politic,  yet  are  most  shamefully 
wronged.  In  the  South,  they  are  shot  down  for  the 
slightest  provocation,  deprived  of  their  votes,  cheated 
out  of  their  honest  earnings,  while  in  the  North  they 
have  closed  against  them  nearly  every  avenue  to  skilled 
labor,  although  opened  to  every  other  class,  to  the  ignor- 
ant Russian  Jew  as  well  as  to  the  intelligent  native  me- 
chanic, to  the  foreigner  who  has  the  most  absurd  ideas 
of  our  institutions  and  government,  and  who  is  filled  with 
communism  and  anarchy,  as  well  as  to  the  intelligent 
English,  Scotch  and  German  emigrant.  A  people  who 
have  been  thus  shamefully  wronged,  and  who  are  yet  far 
from  having  their  just  rights  accorded,  need  more  than 
sermons  on  the  Sabbath.  They  need  encouragement  in 
everything  that  will  tend  to  the  development  of  true  man 
and  womanhood;  they  need  help  in  the  practical  things 
of  life. 

For  example,  he  who  has  been  always  dependent,  he 
who  is  ignorant  of  the  most  fundamental  principles  of 
knowledge  must  be  taught  these  principles,  and  he  who 
is  careless  must  be  taught  exactness.  Now  I  hold  that 
a  church  which  fails  to  provide  for  these  practical  wants 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  57 

of  its  people  fails  to  comprehend  its  true  mission,  not- 
withstanding it  may  be  most  faithful  in  its  teaching  of 
strictly  spiritual  things.  Now  if  this  be  true  of  the 
church  generally,  much  more  is  it  true  of  those  churches 
whose  membership  is  composed  principally  of  colored 
people. 

Therefore,  we  hold  that  the  great  mission  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  among  the  colored  people,  and  conse- 
quently the  Berean  Church,  is  educational  as  well  as 
moral  and  religious.  The  Berean  Church  must  exert  at) 
educational  influence  in  this  city  if  it  would  fill  the  full 
measure  of  its  mission  for  which  it  is  so  admirably  cal- 
culated. For  example  the  central  location  of  the  church 
to  the  people  in  the  Northwestern  section  of  the  city, 
being  of  easy  access  to  all  north  of  Market  street,  its 
lovely  location  and  surroundings  on  South  College 
avenue,  being  in  front  of  one  of  the  most  famous  Institu- 
tions of  the  kind  in  the  world;  its  lovely  lawn  and  sub- 
stantial and  attractive  building  which  are  most  admir- 
ably adapted  to  the  various  wants  we  have  indicated; 
its  connection  with  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Cen- 
tral from  which  it  receives  wholesome  advice  and  coun- 
sel, as  well  as  wisdom  and  strength;  the  prestige  it  has 
already  achieved,  and  the  estimation  in  which  it  is  held 
by  the  people  generally,  prove  beyond  a  question,  that 
the  mission  of  the  church  is  far  reaching  and  compre- 
hensive. 

But  my  friends  while  it  will  be  the  mission  of  the 
Berean  Church  to  look  after  everything  that  pertains 
to  the  best  interest  of  the  people,  its  success  numerically 
measured  will  not  be  rapid.  There  will  be  no  eager 
rushing  on  the  part  of  the  people  from  the  various  sec- 
tions of  the  city  to  attend  its  services.  Men  do  not  rush 
to  places  where  they  are  made  to  think,  where  the  knife, 
and  the  lance  are  employed  as  well  as  the  oil. 


$8  PRESS  YTERIAMS  1  r. 

the  balm,  and  the  myrrh.  The  mass  generally  go  where 
the  fancy  is  tickled  and  where  they  can  give  vent  to  the 
mirthful  and  ridiculous. 

But  while  there  will  be  no  general  movement  on  the 
part  of  the  people  toward  the  Berean  Church,  they  will 
come,  not  en  masse,  but  as  individuals.  The  succcess 
of  this  church  will  consist  in  the  prominence  that  will 
be  given  to  the  creative  instead  of  the  passive  element  in 
man.  The  chief  aim  of  th  Berean  Church  will  be  to 
cause  men  to  act  instead  of  being  acted  upon,  to  draw 
out  the  latent  powers,  which  lie  dormant  within,  in- 
stead of  filling  the  mind  with  thoughts  which  will  not 
be  digested,  and  which  will  produce  weaklings,  instead 
of  strong  men,  intellectual  and  spiritual  activity  and  life 
instead  of  moral  sickness  and  death. 

It  will  ever  be  the  aim  of  the  Berean  Church  to  cause 
men  and  women  to  imbibe  the  spirit  of  the  injunction, 
"Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  teach  all  nations,"  to  get 
them  if  possible  to  be  interested  in  the  improvement  of 
their  neighbors,  as  well  as  their  own  individual  improve- 
ment; to  cause  individual  men  not  merely  to  look  upon 
themselves  as  objects  to  be  worked  upon  and  fashioned 
into  beings  of  grace  and  beauty,  but  also  as  the  sculptors 
of  their  neighbors  who  are  to  be  carved  into  the  likeness 
of  Him  in  whose  name  they  are  called.  It  is,  and  ever 
will  be  the  aim  of  this  church  to  teach  the  indissoluble 
union  between  religion  and  morality,  that  one  can  not 
be  a  Christian,  strictly  speaking,  who  is  an  immoral  man ; 
that  a  Christian  is  one  who  follows  Christ  inwardly  as 
well  as  outwardly,  with  the  heart  as  well  as  the  lips,  on 
the  week  day,  as  well  as  the  Sabbath  day,  in  the  darkness 
as  well  as  in  the  light. 

Ever  since  the  organization  of  the  church  on  the  loth 
of  June,  1880,  and  especially  during  the  last  eight  years 
the  pastor's  time  has  been  occupied  principally,  in  lay- 
ing foundations,  in  the  devising  of  plans,  and  in  the 
organization  of  societies  for  aggressive  work  for  the 


ITS  RELATION   TO  THE  NEGRO.  59 

future.  During-  this  period  there  was  little  time  to  try 
faithfully  those  methods  usually  employed  to  increase 
the  membership  of  churches,  and  yet  the  active  number 
of  communicants  over  and  above  the  loss  by  death,  re- 
movals and  otherwise,  is  more  than  double  what  it  was 
at  the  organization.  Seldom  has  there  been  a  commu- 
nion season  when  additions  have  not  been  made  to  the 
membership,  some  of  whom  are  as  faithful  and  self 
sacrificing  as  can  be  found  in  any  church.  Some  of 
these  foundations,  organizations,  societies  and  plans 
which  have  been  laid,  instituted,  formed  and  projected 
are  familiar  to  most  of  you  present,  as  your  intelligent 
counsel  and  advice  were  from  time  to  time  solicited  in 
regard  to  each. 

First  among  these  is  the  church  itself.  There  has  been 
laid  by  the  erection  of  this  church  a  foundation  upon 
which  all  the  organizations  and  societies  which  have  for 
their  object  the  spiritual,  moral  and  temporal  improve- 
ment of  the  people  can  erect  their  temples. 

Secondly,  the  Eldership  which  is  organized  according 
to  the  rotary  plan  in  three  classes  of  three  years  each. 

Thirdly,  the  diaconate  which  is  also  organized  accord- 
ing to  the  rotary  plan  and  which  admits  only  male  mem- 
bers at  present,  but  which  we  hope  when  the  Presbyterial 
sky  shall  have  cleared  of  the  clouds  arising  from  the 
recent  discussion  on  the  subject,  that  provision  will  be 
made  for  the  introduction  of  female  members  as  well. 

Fourthly,  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society  which  is  composed 
wholly  of  ladies  and  which  has  for  its  object  the  raising 
of  money  to  assist  the  board  in  meeting  the  current  ex- 
penses of  the  church. 

Fifthly,  The  Loyal  Legion'  Band.  This  is  a  temper- 
ance association  which  is  composed  of  boys  and  girls 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Young  Woman's  Branch  of 
the  Woman's  Temperance  Union. 

Sixthly,  The  Do  Good  Society.  This  society  is 
composed  of  little  folks,  the  object  of  which  is  the  en- 


60  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

couragement  of  all  such  in  the  cultivation  of  habits  of 
benevolence  to  do  for  others  what  they  wish  to  have 
done  for  themselves,  and  thus  generate  a  spirit  of  dis- 
interested regard  and  good  will  for  each  other  which  is 
so  much  needed  among  us  as  a  people. 

These  my  friends  are  some  of  the  societies  which  have 
been  organized  up  to  the  present,  every  one  of  which  has 
a  special  mission  to  perform.  But  these  societies  have 
not  yet  strictly  speaking  entered  upon  their  mission. 
They  have  been  organized  but  not  animated;  articu- 
lated but  for  the  most  part  inactive.  They  need  to 
have  breathed  into  them  the  breath  of  life,  to  make 
them  the  living,  moving,  acting  and  aggressive  instru- 
ments they  are  intended  to  be  in  the  vineyard  of  the 
Master.  They  need  the  nurturing  care,  the  tender  sym- 
pathy, the  kindly  aid,  and  the  sure  support  which  can 
only  be  given  by  the  strong,  and  which  many  of  you 
present  are  so  qualified  to  render.  But  in  saying  this 
we  would  not  be  understood  to  mean  anything  more 
than  the  words  imply.  The  child  that  is  tenderly  nur- 
tured, cared  for  and  encouraged  developes  no  less  into 
a  strong,  independent  and  forcible  man  or  woman,  than 
it  would  have  done  had  there  been  no  such  care  and 
attention  given,  and  a  church  society,  which  receives  aid 
and  encouragement  if  properly  rendered,  will  develope 
no  less  into  a  strong  and  independent  organization  than 
it  would  if  this  help  had  not  been  given. 

It  is  not  to  carry  the  Berean  Church  my  friends,  or 
any  organization  within  it,  we  ask.  What  we  want  is 
simply  that  there  be  that  fostering  care  which  will  en- 
able it  to  crawl,  to  stand  alone,  to  walk,  which  a  wise 
mother  renders  her  child.  Finally  when  healthy,  and 
strong  and  thoroughly  developed  in  all  of  its  parts, 
and  filled  with  mature  wisdom  and  aggressive  energy, 
this  church  shall  enter  upon  the  grand  mission  of  life 
for  which  it  was  intended,  and  then  moving  forward  with 
all  of  the  dignity  and  intelligent  bearing  of  a  thoroughly 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  61 

organized  and  developed  church,  it  shall  impress  its 
worth  upon  the  community  and  upon  the  city  and  coun- 
try, then*  it  will  be  enabled  to  do  its  part  for  solving 
that  vexed  problem,  which  is  to-day  so  greatly  absorb- 
ing the  minds  of  the  country  and  which  is  the  theme  of 
the  principal  speeches  and  the  most  eloquent  orations 
of  our  greatest  statesman  and  authors. 

I  am  of  those,  my  friends  who  believe  that  the  color 
of  the  skin,  the  shape  of  the  head,  the  texture  of  the  hair, 
or  racial  connections  have  nothing  to  do  whatever  with 
the  intellectual,  moral  progress  of  any  individual  or  asso- 
ciation, but  where  healthy  influences  have  been  brought 
to  bear  and  careful  instruction  employed  they  would  de- 
velop into  strong  and  influential  men  and  organizations 
and  would  fill  their  mission  in  life  as  wisely  and  as  hon- 
orably as  the  most  favored  though  they  be  of  dusky  hue, 
and  of  a  race  which  is  denominated,  the  despised.  Up 
to  the  present  time  the  pastor  of  the  Berean  Church  has 
been  necessarily  obliged  to  carry  the  burden  principally 
alone.  The  assistance  which  was  rendered  by  you 
friends  present,  and  especially  the  noble  part  rendered 
by  our  friend,  Mr.  McGill,  we  fully  appreciate  and  shall 
never  forget;  for  without  this  assistance  there  would 
have  been  no  Bereari  Church  and  consequently  no  call 
for  the  devising  of  plans  for  a  more  extensive  work 
in  the  future. 

But  you  will  understand  that  the  principal  burden, 
that  of  gathering  in  and  holding  together  his  congre- 
gation and  the  soliciting  of  funds  for  the  lot  and  build- 
ing devolved  principally  upon  the  pastor  himself,  and 
consequently,  having  devoted  so  much  of  his  time  to  the 
secular  part  of  the  work  he  could  not  therefore  carry  on 
with  equal  success  the  spiritual.  But  the  time  has  now 
come  and  fully  come,  when  special  attention  must  be 
given  to  the  spiritual  part  of  the  work,  or  perhaps  more 
properly  to  the  instructing  and  developing  of  the  intellec- 
tual, moral  and  spiritual  forces  in  the  church.  The 


62  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

time  has  come  when  there  must  be  put  into  operation  the 
societies  which  have  already  been  formed  and  thus  by  an 
active  and  healthy  movement  of  all  the  machinery  of  the 
church  to  reach  towards  those  great  possibilities  which 
lie  invitingly  before  us  and  which  by  a  diligent  and  faith- 
ful application  of  all  the  means  at  our  command  can 
be  reached. 

The  time  has  come  my  friends  when  the  pastor  of  the 
Berean  Church  must  prepare  himself  more  carefully  that 
he  may  wisely  instruct  the  people.  He  should  keep 
abreast  of  the  intelligent  thought  of  the  day  in  the  dif- 
ferent departments  of  learning  and  thus  exhibit  in  him- 
self that  which  he  would  have  his  church  and  his  people 
become.  For  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  this  much- 
mooted  Negro  problem  is  to  be  solved  by  the  Negro 
himself,  and  he  is  solving  it  notwithstanding  all  the 
blatant  speeches  which  are  being  made  by  Southern 
demagogues  and  Northern  sympathizers. 

On  one  occasion  when  a  would-be  learned  ornith- 
ologist had  criticised  most  unmercifully  what  he  sup- 
posed to  be  the  work  of  a  taxidermist  saying  the  wings 
were  not  properly  adjusted,  the  head  was  out  of  all  pro- 
portion to  the  body,  while  the  eyes  were  wretched  be- 
yond all  description,  that  the  owl  in  question,  gave  one 
of  those  significant  winks,  characteristic  of  his  genus, 
thus  casting  at  once  all  of  his  learned  wisdom  and  criti- 
cism to  the  ground;  so  are  the  pet  theories  and  learned 
criticisms  on  the  Negro  being  daily  cast  to  the  ground, 
everywhere,  throughout  this  country,  by  the  Negro  him- 
self. It  is  with  the  burden  of  this  thought  upon  us  that 
we  feel  the  need  of  applying  ourselves  more  closely  to 
the  great  work  of  preaching  and  of  teaching,  than  we 
have  been  permitted  hitherto  to  do.  We  want  every 
available  means  employed  both  by  the  pulpit  and  the 
pew,  which  will  tend  to  lift  the  intellectual,  moral  and 
religious  standard  of  the  people. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
FIRST.    ADVANTAGES  OF  THE  BEREAN  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 

We  would  not  be  true  to  ourselves  and  our  friends 
if  before  leaving  this  subject  we  did  not  speak  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  Berean  Presbyterian  Church. 

In  the  first  place  the  church  is  very  excellently 
located.  While  there  may  not  be  many  colored  people 
on  South  College  avenue,  yet  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
there  is  a  large  and  growing  population.  Within  a  ra- 
dius of  six  squares  of  the  church  there  are  hundreds 
of  colored  people,  and  within  three  squares,  there  are 
five  small  streets  crowded  with  them. 
Let  me  particularize,  commence  at  Spring  Garden  street, 
which  is  only  seven  squares  from  the  church,  and  walk 
north  and  there  will  be  found  Brandywine  street,  Spring- 
ett,  West,  Capitol,  Matlock,  Grove,  Scott,  Cambridge, 
Edwin,  Erdman,  Geary,  Hedding,  Markham,  Becker, 
Olive,  Grayson  and  Barkley,  in  all  seventeen  streets, 
every  one  of  which,  is  largely  represented  by  colored 
people  while  a  number  have  no  other  occupants.  Now 
all  of  these  seventeen  streets  are  situated  south  of  the 
Berean  Church,  between  Spring  Garden  and  Girard 
avenue,  and  Broad  and  Twenty-first  streets,  while  no 
one  of  them  is  more  than  five  squares  from  the  church. 

Now  commence  at  Montgomery  avenue,  and  go  south 
and  there  will  be  met  Beechwood,  Norwood,  Wood- 
stock, Turner,  Rednor,  Bolton,  Wright,  Sharswood, 
Sybert,  Thompson,  Wralter,  Bananna,  Cabot  and  Carlisle 
streets,  in  all  fourteen  streets,  all  of  which  are  occupied 
by  colored  people,  while  a  number  are  crowded  with 
them  as  Wright,  Beechwood  and  Norwood,  and  no 
one  is  more  than  seven  squares  from  the  Berean  Church. 
Hence  we  find  that  there  are  thirty-one  streets  within  a 

63 


64  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

radius  of  six  squares  of  the  Berean  Church  all  of  which 
are  largely  occupied  by  colored  people. 

Now  in  the  district  which  is  occupied  by  these  streets 
there  is  but  one  colored  church,  the  Union  A.  M.  E.,  be- 
sides the  Berean,  and  it  is  located  over  five  squares  to 
the  southeast  of  the  latter;  besides  the  colored  people  on 
the  streets  named,  colored  families  may  be  found  in  this 
same  district  on  many  of  the  principal  streets,  which  if 
brought  together,  would  make  no  inconsiderable  num- 
ber. Hence  it  is  seen  that  the  Berean  Church  is  most 
wisely  located,  since  there  is  such  a  large  class  of 
people,  from  which  to  draw. 

And  yet  we  have  only  mentioned  the  streets  which  are 
on  the  one  side  of  our  field,  those  west  of  Broad  street, 
and  north  of  Spring  Garden,  should  we  go  to  the  east  of 
Broad  street,  between  Twelfth,  and  Spring  Garden  and 
Montgomery  avenue,  we  would  find  nearly  as  many 
more  streets,  and  as  thickly  inhabited  by  colored  people. 
And  should  we  go  further  south,  between  Spring  Garden 
and  Market  and  Twelfth  and  Twenty-first  streets,  there 
would  be  found  many  streets,  occupied  by  colored  peo- 
ple, some  of  them  crowded,  as  Pearl  and  Carlton.  In 
these  last  two  districts  there  are  three  colored  churches, 
Zoar  M.  E.,  Zion  Baptist  and  Ebenezer  Baptist,  which 
together  have  a  seating  capacity  of  not  more  than  fifteen 
hundred,  while  there  are  in  these  last  two  sections  alone 
not  less  than  three  thousand  colored  people.  But  it  is 
asked,  if  there  are  as  many  colored  people  within  the 
vicinity  of  the  church  as  is  claimed,  should  it  not  have 
a  greater  following?  In  reply  we  would  say  that  unfor- 
tunately the  Negro  has  a  nature  not  unlike  other  people. 
Naturally  he  is  a  sinner  and  not  a  saint,  and  needs 
grace  to  have  his  attention  turned  to  spiritual  things. 

The  great  bulk  of  the  colored  people  in  the  north- 
western part  of  the  city  are  in  a  very  low  spiritual  state, 
hence,  to  have  them  attend  church,  they  need  to  have 
something  more  powerful  to  draw  them  than  a  hand- 


THE   PARSONAGE  OF  THE   BEREAN    1'RESBYTERIAN    CHURCH. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  65 

some  building  and  an  attractive  place  of  worship.  They 
need  the  personal  oversight  and  constant  attention  of  a 
minister  and,  more  especially,  the  out  pouring  of  the 
spirit  of  God.  Situated  as  the  pastor  of  the  Berean 
Church  has  been  all  these  years  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  give  the  people  his  undivided  attention,  hence  one 
reason  why  there  has  not  been  any  greater  following. 
But  we  read  that  the  Lord  himself  could  do  no  great 
works  in  Capernaum  and  yet  he  was  not  soliciting  to 
build  a  church  for  them  either.  We  have  no 
doubt  whatever  in  the  ultimate  success  of  the 
church,  just  as  soon  as  the  pastor  will  be 
able  to  give  himself  to  the  work  of  gathering 
in  the  people  as  enthusiastically  as  he  has  been  obliged 
to  do  in  building  up  the  temporal  affairs,  the  tide  will 
be  turned.  This  time  we  hope  has  about  come. 

SECOND.    THE   BUILDINGS   ARE   BEAUTIFUL. 

Another  advantage  of  the  Berean  Church  is  that  both 
church  and  parsonage  are  beautiful.  They  are  not  only 
well  appointed  but  attractive  in  appearance.  We  know 
that  there  are  some  well  meaning  people,  who  say  that 
for  a  people  who  are  poor,  and  for  the  most  part,  de- 
pendent and  ignorant,  that  only  plain,  cheap  church 
buildings  and  parsonages  should  be  erected,  and  that, 
too,  in  their  immediate  neighborhood,  even  if  that  neigh- 
borhood would  be  in  the  slums.  And  we  are  sorry  to 
say  that  some  ministers  of  the  Gospel  are  the  most 
pronounced  in  this  position.  Several  years  since,  the 
writer  was  most  grossly  insulted  by  being  virtually  order- 
ed out  when  he  called  upon  a  prominent  minister  (of  this 
city)  for  sympathy  and  aid  in  his  death  struggle  to  pay 
off  the  debt  on  the  Berean  Church  property,  simply 
because  of  the  character  of  the  grounds  and  buildings. 
In  this  distinguished  brother's  estimation  it  was  an  out- 
rage to  put  up  such  a  place  for  poor  colored  people. 
He  declared  emphatically  that  he  would  do  nothing 
5 


66  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

whatever  to  aid  it,  that  he  had  no  time  to  talk,  at  the 
same  time  opened  the  door  for  him  to  go. 

In  reply  we  would  say  that  the  Negro  is  so  used  to 
this  argument  that  he  is  never  surprised  when  he  hears 
it.  There  are  those  who  damn  the  Negro,  because  he  is 
down,  and  who  damn  him  when  he  attempts  to  rise.  It 
was  Judas  who  bemoaned  the  waste  of  spikenard  and  his 
spirit  is  not  dead  yet.  The  Berean  Church  is  this  waste 
of  spikenard.  But  it  is  a  waste  that  is  cheering  the 
spirit  and  encouraging  the  hopes  of  a  struggling  peo- 
ple. What  the  Negro  needs  is  to  forget  the  past  and 
look  to  the  future  especially  if  the  looking  back  over 
his  past  history  in  his  present  condition  will  only  tend  to 
discourage  him  in  his  efforts  to  rise.  Hence  everything 
that  is  done  for  him  that  tends  to  remove  from  his  soul 
the  badges  of  the  slavery  through  which  he  has  passed 
and  from  which  he  is  still  suffering  is  an  incalculable 
blessing. 

This  is  what  the  Berean  Church  is  doing.  There  is 
nothing  about  it  which  is  in  any  way"  to  the  Negro  a 
reminder  of  his  past  degradation,  nor  any  thing  to  make 
him  feel  that  he  is  an  inferior,  hence  despised  and  cir- 
cumscribed, and  therefore  that  only  so  far  he  can  go  and 
no  further.  It  is  the  one  place  he  can  come  and  breathe 
the  pure  invigorating  atmosphere  of  a  noble  manhood 
and  receive  renewed  strength  and  inspiration  for  the 
future.  It  was  because  of  the  belief  that  it  would  inspire 
the  manhood  and  hopes  of  the  people  that  the  noble 
friends  of  the  church  were  actuated  to  give  as  liberally 
toward  the  enterprise  as  they  did. 

At  a  meeting  in  the  North  Broad  Street  Presbyter- 
ian Church  which  had  been  called  to  consider  the 
purchase  of  a  lot  and  the  erection  of  a  church  for  the 
colored  people  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  city,  the 
friend  who  has  done  more  for  the  church  than  any  other 
in  reply  to  one  who  thought  a  very  cheap  building  on 
one  of  the  back  streets  would  suffice  said,  that  he  hoped 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  67 

if  there  would  be  any  concerted  action  to  put  up  a  church 
for  the  colored  people,  that  they  would  agree  to  put 
up  a  building  that  would  be  an  inspiration  to  the  people 
and  a  credit  to  themselves,  and  if  he  had  anything  to 
do  with  it  he  would  want  to  see  a  building  put  up,  which, 
if  it  had  been  put  up  for  any  of  them,  they  would  not  be 
ashamed  to  worship  in  it. 

This  was  the  spirit  which  actuated  this  friend  long 
before  there  had  been  a  dollar  secured  for  the  Berean 
Church,  and  it  is  the  spirit  which  has  actuated  him  in  all 
of  his  labors  of  love  in  connection  with  this  church  from 
that  time  to  the  present.  Could  the  Presbyterian 
Church  but  learn  wisdom  from  our  Catholic  friends  it 
would  most  radically  change  its  method  of  building- 
churches  and  institutions  for  the  poor. 

The  Catholic  Church  in  this  country  is  largely  made 
up  of  the  emigrant  class,  principally  emigrants  from 
Ireland,  most  of  whom  when  they  reach  these  shores  are 
poor,  ignorant  and  superstitious  and  yet  the  churches 
which  are  put  up  for  them  are  among  the  finest  in  the 
country,  many  of  them  being  marvels  of  architectural 
beauty  and  as  a  result  this  Church,  the  criticisms  to  the 
contrary  not  withstanding,  is  moving  forward  as  a 
mighty  host  with  shields  and  banners. 

Let  the  Presbyterian  Church  make  the  Negro  feel 
that  he  is  wanted,  and  not  merely  tolerated,  let  it  throw 
away  its  patriotism  and  receive  him  as  a  friend  and 
brother  and  it  will  have  in  him  a  staunch  friend  and  de- 
fender, one  who  will  unbare  his  bronzed  bosom  to  the 
foes  of  right  and  truth. 

THIRD.    THOROUGHLY   ACQUAINTED   WITH   FIELD. 

Another  advantage,  the  Pastor  is  thoroughly  acquaint- 
ed with  his  field  and  this  we  consider  to  be  a  very  great 
advantage  to  any  church. 

To  be  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  lay  of  the  field, 
the  people,  the  strategic  points  and  the  possibilities  of 


68  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

success  gives  the  vantage  ground  to  any  enterprise  let  it 
be  secular  or  religious.  It  is  the  inward  sense  that  we 
know  the  field  and  what  can  be  brought  out  of  it  that 
gives  us  the  confidence  of  success  though  the  congre- 
gations are  at  present  small  and  that  on  the  face  the 
work  may  to  some  look  discouraging. 

But  to  those  who  are  thoroughly  acquainted  wlith  the 
facts  there  is  no  doubt  about  the  ultimate  success  of  the 
Berean  Church. 

While  we  do  not  wish  to  take  one  iota  of 
credit  to  ourselves  of  the  work  which  was  done  by  the 
dear  friends  who  stood  by  us  in  the  work  of  the  Berean 
Ghurch  all  these  years,  yet  we  are  sure  we  will  be  doing 
them  a  kindness  if  we  set  both  their  assistance  and  our 
endeavor  in  the  true  light  before  the  community.  We  are 
frank  to  admit  that  there  would  be  no  Berean  Church 
if  it  had  not  been  for  the  assistance  rendered  by  these 
friends,  but  we  also  say  that  that  assistance  would  not 
have  been  given  if  it  had  not  been  solicited  by  the  pas- 
tor of  the  church.  And  we  say  further,  that  with  the 
exception  of  one  or  two  friends  the  entire  amount  given 
by  the  individual  friends  was  not  received  at  one  solicita- 
tion, nor  two,  nor  three,  but  in  many  instances  it  was 
after  the  fiftieth  solicitation  before  there  was  secured  the 
entire  amounts  which  stand  on  our  books  to  their  credit, 
and  this  was  done  not  that  we  had  any  liking  for  solicit- 
ing but  because  it  was  absolutely  necessary. 

The  lot  had  been  purchased,  the  church  built,  and 
the  parsonage  erected  and  they  had  to  be  paid  for. 
The  money  had  been  paid  by  our  Friend  and  we  would 
have  been  untrue  to  him,  untrue  to  ourselves,  untrue  to 
the  people  in  whose  interest  we  were  laboring,  untrue  to 
the  Presbyterian  church  and  untrue  to  our  God  if  we  had 
not  used  every  endeavor  to  secure  the  money  which 
he  had  so  generously  advanced  and  reimbursed  him. 
Therefore  while  engaged  in  this  work  it  was  utterly  im- 
possible to  do  the  missionary  and  spiritual  part,  espec- 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  69 

ially  as  it  ought  to  be  done.  For  while  thus  engaged 
every  energy  of  our  being,  heart,  soul,  and  body  were 
brought  into  requisition. 

Indeed,  the  mental  strain  and  anguish  of  heart  we 
underwent  during  these  years  of  severe  trial  we  have  not 
the  power  to  describe.  For  it  consisted  not  merely  in 
the  effort  to  raise  the  money  but  in  the  keeping  a  per- 
fect equipoise,  if  it  can  be  so  expressed  between  the 
friends  who  had  the  means  to  give  and  those  who  needed 
assistance;  on  the  one  hand — to  have  the  friends  see 
that  the  church  was  needed — on  the  other  to  convince 
the  people  that  they  were  wanted  to  come  into  the 
church.  On  the  one  hand  the  friends  had  to  be  con- 
vinced that  we  would  be  successful  in  raising  the  money 
to  pay  for  the  church  and  that  the  enterprise  would 
be  a  success,  on  the  other  hand  the  people  needed  to  be 
assured  that  when  the  church  was  purchased  it  would 
belong  to  them  and  not  that  they  would  simply  be  toler- 
ated to  use  it. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  work  had  been  wholly 
untried,  the  field  was  new,  the  people  had  had  but  little 
experience  in  church  work,  and  absolutely  none  in 
Presbyterianism,  and  being  poor  and  taught  to  look 
with  misgivings  upon  our  church  it  required  the  great- 
est care  and  wisdom  to  convince  them  that  we  were 
working  wholly  and  unselfishly  in  their  interest.  But 
do  what  we  would,  talk  as  we  might,  work  as  faith- 
fully as  we  could,  there  were  those  who  mistrusted  our 
every  action,  and  indeed,  on  the  part  of  some  at  least 
it  seemed  that  this  mistrust  increased  in  proportion  as  we 
neared  the  consummation  of  our  efforts;  while  there 
were  others  convinced  of  our  sincerity  who  advised  to 
throw  up  the  work  because  of  the  ungratefulness  of  the 
people. 

But  to  have  acted  upon  their  advice  we  would  have 
been  recreant  in  our  trust  to  those  friends  whom  we  had 
induced  to  contribute  to  the  enterprise,  and  especially 


70  PRESfi  YTERIANISM. 

to  that  Friend  whose  valuable  counsel  and  liberality 
was  making  it  possible  for  us  to  accomplish  the  object 
we  had  in  view.  Then  there  were  those  from  whom  we 
had  reason  to  expect  better  things  because  of  their 
superior  intelligence  and  advantages  who  criticised  most 
uncharitably  our  every  effort  and  the  work  in  general. 
It  was  from  this  class  when  called  upon  for  assistance 
we  received  the  most  bitter  insults  and  w*ho  seemed  to 
take  special  delight  in  wounding  our  feelings. 

It  was  here  that  the  work  was  most  crushing,  yea 
these  experiences  were  as  daggers  thrust  to  our  heart, 
the  pangs  of  which  we  had  to  bear  without  a  murmur. 
We  had  to  hear  the  misgivings  and  fault  findings  of  the 
people  among  whom  we  were  laboring,  the  bitter  criti- 
cisms of  those  who  felt  that  too  much  was  being  done 
for  the  Negro,  and  go  on  soliciting  from  our  friends  as 
if  everything  was  going  on  perfectly  smooth,  and  that 
every  person  was  thoroughly  interested  in  our  work. 
With  such  an  experience  as  this  is  it  to  be  wondered 
at  that  we  had  not  the  time  much  less  the  heart  to  work 
in  the  spiritual  part  of  the  church. 

FOURTH.  THE  CHURCH  WILL  IN  TIME  BECOME  SELF  SUSTAINING. 

Another  advantage  to  the  Berean  Church  is  the  pros- 
pect of  its  becoming  self-sustaining.  It  is  an  infant 
yet,  it  is  true,  but  it  is  an  infant  of  healthy  growth.  It 
has  neither  the  rickets  nor  croup.  But  as  an  infant, 
for  the  time  being  it  must  be  treated  as  such.  It  must 
be  taught  to  crawl,  stand,  and  walk  and  run,  in  their 
regular  order  just  as  every  infant.  It  must  be  fed  upon 
infant  food,  and  not  upon  the  strong  meat  of  the  grown 
man,  because  its  digestive  apparatus  is  not  sufficiently 
strong  to  bear  it. 

But  we  are  happy  to  say  that  Berean  Church  as  such 
has  gotten  beyond  the  period  of  crawling,  and  standing, 
she  is  commencing  to  step  and  walk,  and  from  its  spright- 
ly look  and  the  earnest  efforts  it  is  putting  forth  we  are 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  71 

sure,  it  will  in  time  run  and  leap;  and  will  take  on  all 
the  vigor  and  life  of  an  active,  healthy  and  happy 
youth;  and  that  finally  it  will  reach  the  period  of  a  well 
rounded  out  and  honored  majority,  when  it  will  take 
the  place  which  it  will  have  carved  out  for  itself  in  the 
vineyard  of  the  Master. 

But  before  the  Berean  Church  will  have  reached  this 
position  there  is  much  to  be  done  both  by  the  pastor  and 
people. 

In  the  first  place,  the  different  works  are  to  be  taken 
up.  The  people  are  to  be  studied,  their  dispositions, 
temperaments  and  tendencies,  and  each  be  put  to  doing 
the  work  for  which  he  or  she  has  a  natural  fitness,  and 
consequently  where  they  will  accomplish  the  most  for 
Christ  and  humanity. 

The  people  are  also  to  be  taught  the  duty  of  giving,  not 
spasmodically,  but  systematically,  and  according  to  their 
means,  not  from  a  selfish  interest,  but  from  a  sense  of 
duty  as  fellow  Christians  and  brethren  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
They  are  also  to  be  taught  the  Christian  graces  and 
doctrines  which  carry  with  them  everything  that  goes  to 
make  up  a  full  symmetrical  man  or  woman  as  taught  in 
His  Word.  Such  a  work  as  this  could  not  be  accom- 
plished in  a  day.  It  could  not  possibly  have  been  done 
while  we  were  engaged  in  the  other  work.  It  must  not  be 
forgotten  also  that  while  there  are  plenty  of  people  in 
this  section  of  the  city,  from  which  the  Berean  Church 
can  draw,  yet  they  are  for  the  most  part  poor,  most  of 
them  very  poor,  therefore  it  would  be  sometime  before 
they  would  be  able  to  support  the  church. 

Take  the  present  congregation  of  the  Berean  Church 
for  example,  there  is  not  more  than  one  man 
who  commands  more  than  eight  dollars  a  week 
and  some  of  them  have  to  support  families 
on  this.  Mr.  Porter,  an  elder  of  the  church,  a  carpen- 
ter by  trade,  but  whose  color  excludes  him  from  the 
trades  union,  drives  a  team  for  seven  dollars  a  week  and 


72  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

boards  himself  and  also  supports  his  family.  Many  of 
the  young  men  work  from  three  to  five  dollars  a  week 
and  board  themselves.  ~  The  class  who  are  the  best  able 
to  assist  the  church  financially,  are  the  girls  who  live  at 
service,  for  they  get  wages  from  two  and  a  half  to  four 
dollars  a  week  and  their  room  and  board.  With  these 
facts  it  can  be  readily  seen  that  unless  there  was  a  large 
following,  no  church  could  be  self-sustaining,  where  the 
people  have  such  little  ability  to  give.  Nothing  would 
delight  the  pastor  of  the  Berean  Church  more  than  to 
see  the  church  self-sustaining,  but  he  feels  to  attempt  to 
make  it  so  in  its  present  straightened  condition  would 
be  a  most  serious  detriment  to  the  work,  if  not  suicidal. 
The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  report  which  we 
gave  to  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  through  the 
Church  Extension  Committee. 

EXTRACT  FROM   REPORT  TO  PRESBYTERY  THROUGH  THE 
CHURCH   EXTENSION  COMMITTEE. 

"We  would  suggest  that  steps  be  taken  by  the  Presby- 
tery to  secure  the  pastor  of  the  Berean  Church  a  suffi- 
cient salary  upon  which  to  live  wholly  independent  of 
the  people  of  his  charge  and  thus  enable  him  to  give  his 
entire  energies,  time,  strength  and  talents  to  the  work  so 
as  to  be  able  to  bring  the  church  up  to  that  ideal  strength, 
which  has  been  planned,  and  which  he  and  his  friends 
so  much  desire  to  see  accomplished.  We  feel  that  this 
should  be  done  both  in  justice  to  him  and  the  people 
and  for  the  advancement  of  Presbyterianism  among  the 
colored  people  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  and  the  coun- 
try at  large. 

"The  committee,  we  are  sure  could  not  put  the 
Church's  money  where  it  would  yield  richer  fruits  for 
Christ  and  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia ;  and  then,  too, 
it  would  be  in  keeping  with  the  committee's  oft  repeated 
idea  of  church  extension,  which  is  to  take  hold  of  a 
strategic  point,  put  up  a  good  substantial  church  build- 


S  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO,  73 

ing  and  stand  by  the  organization  until  the  church  is 
thoroughly  established.  The  Committee's  argument  all 
along  has  been  that  it  is  better  to  give  largely,  say  ten, 
twenty  or  thirty  thousand  dollars  towards  a  church  that 
is  commandingly  situated  and  which  has  a  promising 
future  and  thus,  establish  it  upon  a  solid  basis,  than  to  or- 
ganize a  dozen  churches  annually  which  will  never 
grow  into  strong  and  aggressive  organizations  .  Acting 
upon  this  plan  the  committee  has  taken  hold  of  several 
prominent  churches  which  were  carrying  heavy  debts, 
and  paid  off  their  indebtedness  or  largely  so,  and  thus 
placed  them  in  an  independent  and  prosperous  condition. 

"But  no  such  assistance  was  given  to  the  Berean 
Church.  The  Church  Extension  Committee  did  not  re- 
lieve the  pastor  of  the  Berean  Church  from  all  respon- 
sibility and  assume  the  debt  themselves,  and  thus  en- 
able him  to  devote  his  time  wholly  to  the  spiritual  in- 
terest of  the  church  which  was  so  much  needed.  Its 
debt  if  paid  at  all  had  to  be  paid  wholly  by  money  raised 
by  his  personal  solicitations,  even  the  amount  secured 
from  the  churches,  during  the  ten  years  in  paying  off 
the  debt  by  public  collections,  which  amounted  to  only 
a  little  over  a  ($1,000)  thousand  dollars,  was  secured 
through  and  by  his  efforts. 

"Now  since  neither  the  Old  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia 
Central,  under  whose  auspices  the  Berean  Church  was 
organized,  nor  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  of  which 
it  is  now  a  member,  nor  its  Committee  on  Church  Ex- 
tension, assumed  the  debt  of  the  enterprise,  but  left  it 
wholly  to  the  Pastor  to  carry,  we  feel  that  in  justice  to 
him  and  for  its  own  credit  the  committee  ought  to  as- 
sume his  salary  and  not  suffer  him,  after  all  he  has  ac- 
complished for  the  Presbytery  to  be  embarrassed  with 
personal  debt,  because  of  not  having  sufficient  upon 
which  to  live.  Give  him  a  living  chance,  untie  his  hands, 
release  him  from  personal  embarrassment  and  he  will 
do  a  work  with  God's  blessing,  among  the  colored  peo- 


74  PRESB  YTERIAN1SM. 

pie  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  which  will  do  as  much  if 
not  more  to  encourage  the  missionary  efforts  of  the 
Presbytery  than  anything  it  has  undertaken  for 
years.  For  there  is  no  more  hopeful  missionary  field  in 
all  the  city  than  that  among  the  colored  people,  and  yet 
it  is  a  field  which  is  largely  neglected.  There  are  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia  over  fifty  thousand  colored  people, 
and  they  are  steadily  increasing  every  year,  large  ac- 
cessions being  made  to  their  number  annually  from  the 
South. 

"In  this  large  colored  population  there  should  be  at 
least  a  dozen  Presbyterian  Churches  and  missions  where- 
as there  are  but  three  churches  and  no  missions,  viz: 
The  First  African  Presbyterian  Church,  17th  and  Fitz- 
water  street,  the  oldest ;  the  Lombard  Street  Central  Pres- 
byterian Church,  Lombard  street  below  Ninth,  and  the 
Berean,  which  have  a  combined  seating  capacity  of  not 
more  than  fifteen  hundred,  while  the  entire  church  ac- 
commodation for  the  colored  people  of  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  including  all  denominations  is  not  more 
than  twenty-one  thousand  two  hundred.  For  example 
the  fifteen  churches  and  missions  of  the  African  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church  have  a  combined  seating  capacity 
of  not  more  than  six  thousand  seven  hundred.  The 
twelve  churches  of  the  Baptist  denomination  have 
a  combined  seating  capacity  of  four  thousand  five 
hundred.  The  six  churches  and  missions  of 
the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Church 
have  a  seating  capacity  of  not  more  than  two 
thousand  and  seven  hundred.  The  six  churches  and 
missions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  have  a 
seating  capacity  of  not  more  than  two  thousand  six  hun- 
dred. The  four  churches  and  missions  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  have  a  seating  capacity  of  not  more  than  one 
thousand  five  hundred.  The  two  places  of  the  Catholic 
worship  have  a  seating  capacity  of  eight  hundred,  and 
the  three  Presbyterian  Churches,  a  capacity  of  not  more 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  75 

than  fifteen  hundred.  In  other  words  the  forty  eight 
colored  churches  and  missions  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia 
have  a  seating  capacity  of  not  more  than  twenty-one 
thousand  two  hundred.  While  the  colored  population 
is  upwards  of  sixty  thousand.  Thus  showing  that  only 
one-third  of  the  people  have  church  accommodations. 

"If  these  statements  are  correct  and  we  are  sure  they 
can  be  verified,  what  an  opportunity  it  is  for  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Philadelphia,  to  do  a  grand  and  noble  work  for 
God  and  humanity. 

"Why  not  make  the  Berean  Church  the  fulcrum  by 
which  the  non-church  going  class  of  colored  people 
in  Philadelphia  will  be  lifted  into  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  especially  those  north  of  Market  street?  We 
have  ample  grounds,  and  an  excellent  church  building  en- 
tirely clear  of  debt  which  will  meet  all  present  demands. 
Why  should  not  the  committee  centralize  its  influ- 
ence and  aid  here,  and  make  out  of  this  place  a  mighty 
power?  This  is  the  thought  which  the  pastor  of  the 
church  has  kept  steadily  before  him  during  all  his  years 
of  labor.  He  believed  that  the  time  would  come  when 
the  Presbytery  and  the  friends  would  see  the  wisdom 
of  taking  an  active  interest  in  the  Berean  Church  and 
assist  him  to  develop  the  work  along  the  different  lines 
which  he  has  started,  and  which  are  so  greatly  needed, 
in  order  to  raise  the  standard  of  the  colored  people 
of  Phiadelphia,  in  particular,  and  of  the  country  in 
general.  For  it  is  an  unquestionable  fact  that  if  the 
Berean  Church  was  made  a  grand  success  along  the 
different  lines  of  work  which  have  been  begun,  and 
others  contingent  upon  these  which  should  be  started 
its  influence  for  good  would  be  extended  throughout 
the  entire  country,  and  it  would  greatly  encourage  the 
Missionary  work  which  the  Presbyterian  Church  is 
carrying  on  among  the  colored  people,  not  only  in  the 
North,  but  also  in  the  South.  Therefore  to  take  hold  of 
the  Berean  Church  and  give  it  means  to  develope  its 


76  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

work  would  be,  in  our  judgment,  the  wisest  course  for 
the  committee  and  a  paying  investment  of  its  funds." 

One  reason  I  know  for  the  feeling  on  the  part  of 
some,  who  don't  know  the  facts,  that  the  church  ought 
to  be  self-sustaining,  is  the  elaborate  appearance  of  the 
place,  the  grounds,  the  buildings,  the  surroundings, 
the  kempt  manner  in  which  everything  is  kept,  all  give 
the  impression  that  the  congregation  that  worships  in  the 
Berean  Church,  is  well  provided  with  this  world's  goods. 
They  never  think  for  a  moment  that  they  are  all  poor 
people,  and  even  when  they  are  assured  of  the  fact, 
they  conclude  that  there  are  those  who  are  back  of  the 
church  who  are  furnishing  it  with  the  necessary  finan- 
ces. They  say,  and  believe,  that  these  persons  have 
made  the  Berean  Church  their  pet  enterprise,  and  that 
they,  therefore  should  see  to  its  support.  If  those  who 
speak  thus  only  knew  how  greatly  they  are  wounding 
the  feelings  and  dampening  the  ardor  of  some  of  the 
most  devoted  friends  of  Christ  and  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  men  and  women  whose  hearts  are  wide  open 
to  every  call  of  the  church  for  help,  they  would  never 
suffer  themselves  again  to  be  the  authors  of  such  re- 
marks. It  never  .occurs  to  them,  that  some  of  the  friends 
to  whom  they  make  this  criticism,  if  it  can  be 
called  a  criticism  have  done  much  to  encourage 
the  pastor  in  his  work.  For  he  has  made  it 
an  inviolable  rule  never  to  parade  the  names  of 
friends  who  assisted  him  in  his  work.  The 
motive  which  actuated  the  friends  to  give  to- 
wards the  building  of  the  Berean  Church,  and  the 
paying  off  the  debt  on  the  same,  and  especially  of  those 
who  have  done  the  most  to  assist  in  the  work,  was 
most  unselfish.  There  was  but  one  thought  which 
prompted  them  to  give,  and  that  was  thevhope  of  the 
betterment  of  the  condition  of  the  colored  people  of 
the  city,  who  were  being  most  woefully  neglected  by 
the  church,  and  imposed  upon  by  a  vicious  public  senti- 


/TS  RELATION  TO   THE  NEGRO.  77 

ment.  And  especially  is  this  true  of  those  who  have 
done  the  most  for  the  enterprise,  and  who  are  the  most 
interested  in  its  success.  Never  have  men  and  women 
given  more  unselfishly  to  the  cause  of  Christ  than  these. 
Hand  and  strength,  heart  and  mind,  time  and  energy 
were  employed  in  a  way  that  was  most  surprising  but 
beautiful  to  witness.  Never  have  we  seen  such  exhibi- 
tions of  Christian  charity,  and  that  too  by  some  men 
who  made  no  profession  of  Christianity.  Indeed  the  pas- 
tor of  the  church  was  treated  by  some  of  these  men  more 
like  a  Christian  and  a  brother  than  he  was  by  many 
who  are  most  loud  in  their  religious  profession.  Two 
gentlemen  particularly,  who  stand  high  in  the  commer- 
cial world  and  whose  names  are  known  to  all  classes 
in  the  community  have  been  most  friendly.  These  gen- 
tlemen have  never  given  him  an  insulting  word  but 
were  ever  ready  to  shake  him  heartily  by  the  hand, 
speak  a  cheerful  word  or  assist  him  financially  in  his 
work  when  he  was  standing  the  most  in  need.  On 
one  occasion  one  of  these  gentlemen  sent  for  him  and  sub- 
scribed five  hundred  dollars  towards  the  debt  on  his 
church  building,  remarking  that  he  had  been  requested 
to  contribute  five  hundred  dollars  towards  another 
church,  but  as  the  odds  were  against  Berean,  he  con- 
cluded to  give  his  five  hundred  dollars  where  it  was  the 
most  needed. 

It  is  this  spirit  of  rightful  discrimination,  and  kindly 
feeling  on  the  part  of  the  few  friends  who  have  felt  a 
personal  interest  in  the  Berean  Church  and  who  have 
continued  steadily  to  do  so  all  these  years  which  so 
cheered  the  pastor  in  all  his  arduous  labors,  and  enabled 
him  to  press  forward  under  the  most  discouraging  cir- 
cumstances. Especially  is  this  true  of  him  who,  we  are 
free  to  admit  without  the  fear  of  offense  to  any  of  the 
friends,  did  more  to  encourage  us  and  to  establish  the 
Berean  Church  than  any  other  friend,  yes  when  there 
is  taken  into  consideration  everything  which  he  was  to 


78  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

the  enterprise,  counsellor,  benefactor,  friend  he  has  been 
more  to  the  Berean  enterprise  than  all  the  other  friends 
together,  and  this  he  has  been  not  that  he  wished  to 
monopolize  honor,  usurp  power,  or  to  secure  the  praise 
and  applause  of  the  city  but  simply  because  of  his  great 
welling  heart  of  disinterested  love,  and  philanthropy  to- 
ward mankind  in  general,  and  the  poor  in  particular. 
And  being  affected  by  the  condition  of  the  colored  peo- 
ple in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  as  above  described,  he 
resolved  to  do  what  he  could  to  assist  in  improving 
their  condition. 

FIFTH.     THE   COLORED   PEOPLE  ARE  TAKING 
TO   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Another  advantage  to  the  Berean  Church  in  particular 
and  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  general  is  that  the 
colored  people  are  taking  to  Presbyterianism,  and  that 
the  money  expended  to  carry  on  missionary  work  among 
them  has  been  wisely  and  profitably  spent.  It  is  true 
at  the  present  time  the  great  majority  of  the  colored 
people  are  in  the  Methodist  and  Baptist  Churches,  and 
that  some  think  that  they  cannot  be  anything  else,  that 
every  attempt  to  make  them  Presbyterians  is  a  failure. 
Those  who  make  this  assertion  only  expose  their  ignor- 
ance of  the  facts,  and  at  the  same  time  make  use  of  a 
two  edged  sword.  Now  what  are  the  facts?  In  the 
first  place  the  Berean  Church  which  is  one  of  the  young- 
est of  the  church  organizations  among  the  colored  peo- 
ple in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  is  growing  gradually  into 
strength  and  effectiveness  and  in  love  and  sympathy 
with  the  people  irrespective  of  denomination. 

It  is  filling  a  place  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  which 
is  needed,  and  the  people  are  seeing  and  admitting  it. 
Many  of  the  staunchest  friends  it  has  are  in  the  colored 
Methodist  and  Baptist  Churches,  and  no  people  would 
be  more  sorry  than  the  brethren  of  these  churches  for 
the  Berean  Church  to  fail.  Then  again  it  has  only  been 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  79 

since  the  close  of  the  late  war  that  any  special  attempt 
has  been  made  by  the  Presbyterian  Church  to  do  mis- 
sion work  among  the  colored  people,  except  in  New 
York  and  Philadelphia.  Before  the  war  Presbyterian 
slave  holders  admitted  their  slaves  to  the  galleries  of 
their  churches  but  there  was  no  attempt  to  organize  them 
into  churches.  And  yet  in  this  short  period  of  active  mis- 
sionary work  there  are  over  twenty  thousand  com- 
municants connected  with  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
a  following  directly  and  indirectly  of  not  less  than  one 
hundred  thousand,  we  think  that  this  looks  as  if  the 
colored  people  are  taking  to  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Again  we  hold  that  the  Presbyterian  Church  is  needed 
by  the  Negro  to  give  him  strength  of  character  and  fix- 
edness of  purpose,  necessary  to  enable  him  to  fill  well 
and  honorably  his  position  in  life. 

Now  if  the  argument  is  true  which  is  advanced  by 
some,  and  we  are  happy  to  say  that  the  number  who 
use  it  is  growing  gradually  less,  viz.,  that  the  colored 
people  are  not  adapted  to  the  Presbyterian  Church,  then 
we  claim  that  the  Presbyterian  Church  is  not  adapted 
to  the  colored  people,  and  if  the  Presbyterian  church  is 
not  adapted  to  the  colored  people,  it  is  not 
entitled  to  the  fellowship,  and  the  support  of 
Christian  people.  The  church  which  is  not  adapt- 
ed to  all  people — be  they  white  or  black,  be  they 
Hindoos  or  Pagan  has  not  in  it  the  inherent  princi- 
ples of  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ,  hence  it  is  not  Chris- 
tian. 

But  we  believe  nothing  of  the  kind  in  regard  to  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  we  believe  that  this  Church  is  of 
Christ's  planting. 

It  is  not  the  Presbyterian  Church  that  is  wrong,  but 
the  many  false  teachers  and  prophets  who  are  in  it. 
But  these  were  also  in  the  church  at  the  time  of  Christ, 
and  he  pronounced  upon  them  his  bitterest  maledic- 
tions. 


So  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

The  fact  is  that  the  belief  in  the  want  of  adaptability 
to  the  Presbyterian  Church  on  the  part  of  the  colored 
people,  has  become  so  fixed  in  the  minds  of  many  good 
people  who  never  have  been  led  to  see  the  fallacy  of  the 
argument,  that  it  influences  not  only  all  their  actions  to- 
wards the  work  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  among  the 
colored  people,  but  also  the  minds  of  the  colored  peo- 
ple themselves,  towards  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Let  this  fallacious  belief  become  prevalent,  that  the 
Presbyterian  Church  is  not  adapted  to  the  colored  peo- 
ple, and  the  churches  will  not  give  liberally  towards  mis- 
sionary work,  which  the  Presbyteries  are  carrying  on 
among  them;  while  on  the  other  hand  the  colored  peo- 
ple will  take  no  hearty  interest  in  a  denomination  which 
holds  such  a  belief.  This  is  one  reason  why  so  many 
otherwise  good  Presbyterians  are  utterly  indifferent, 
as  to  where,  when,  how,  and  to  whom  they  contribute, 
when  they  give  towards  colored  work.  They  would 
just  as  soon  and  sooner  give  to  Methodist  and  Bap- 
tist enterprises  among  the  colored  people  than  to  Pres- 
byterians and  consequently  they  assist  in  bringing  about 
the  very  results  which  are  predicted  in  regard  to  the 
colored  Presbyterian  Churches.  "I  am  not  so  wedded 
to  the  Presbyterian  Church  as  to  give  my  money  to- 
wards missionary  work  among  a  people  which  can  bet- 
ter be  carried  on  by  some  other  church,"  said  a  rising 
Presbyterian  clergyman,  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  to 
the  pastor  of  the  Berean  church  who  had  called  upon 
him  for  assistance.  This  brother  expressed  openly 
what  hundreds  and  thousands  of  Presbyterian  ministers 
and  elders,  sessions  and  ordinary  church  members  are 
expressing  secretly,  in  acts  all  over  the  land,  and  yet  the 
question  is  asked,  "Is  the  Presbyterian  Church  adapted 
to  the  colored  people?"  Never  were  the  oracles  of 
Delphi  more  adroitly  fulfilled  by  her  priests,  than  are 
those  of  Presbyterians  in  regard  to  the  work  of  the 
church  among  the  colored  people. 

Presbyterian  ministers  and  elders  are  often  engaged 


ITS  RELATION  TO   THE  NEGRO.  81 

in  manufacturing  the  clubs  by  which  the  earnest,  strug- 
gling Missionary  is  being  clubbed  who  is  laboring  under 
the  most  embarrassing  circumstances  to  build  up  the 
work  of  the  church  among  the  colored  people.  And 
yet  notwithstanding  all  the  criticisms  and  oppositions 
both  on  the  part  of  enemies  and  weak  friends  the  colored 
people  are  coming  into  the  Presbyterian  Church  so  that 
they  are  becoming  a  mighty  army  with  banners.  Every 
year  a  number  of  Presbyterian  Churches  are  organized 
among  the  colored  people  aside  from  those  organized  in 
the  South,  and  the  progress  made  by  these  churches  is 
commensurate  with  that  made  by  the  same  class  of 
churches  organized  among  the  whites. 

One  thing  is  certain  that  unless  the  Presbyterian 
Church  takes  a  greater  interest  in  the  colored  people 
she  will  lose  her  opportunity.  We  have  shown  that  the 
Presbyteries  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia  had  not  organ- 
ized a  church  among  the  colored  people  until  the  Be- 
rean  for  nearly  forty  years,  and  not  one  since  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Berean.  The  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia 
North,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  learn,  has  never 
organized  a  church  among  the  colored  people  on  its 
field  since  it  has  been  a  Presbytery.  The  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia  Central,  had  not  organized  any  work 
among  the  colored  people  in  its  field,  until  it  organized 
the  Berean  Church  in  1880.  The  Old  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia,  organized  only  three  colored  Presbyterian 
Churches  in  its  history,  of  nearly  one  hundred  years, 
namely,  the  first  African  Presbyterian  Church  in  1806, 
the  Second  African  Presbyterian  Church  in  1824,  and 
The  Lombard  Street  Central  Presbyterian  Church  in 
1844,  where  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  the  Union 
of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Central  and  the  old 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  has  not  up  to  the  present 
time  organized  any  work  among  the  colored  people 
in  its  field  in  which  there  is  a  population  of  over  fifty 
thousand,  not  more  than  one-half  of  whom  have  church 
facilities." 
6 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SHALL  THE  PROTESTANT  OR  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  OCCUPY 
THE  FIELD  AMONG  THE  COLORED  PEOPLE  ? 

Now  just  as  certain  as  the  Protestant  Church  does 
not  arise  and  occupy  this  field  among  the  colored  peo- 
ple which  is  ripe  for  the  harvest,  and  particularly  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  they  will  lose  their  opportunity. 
For  the  Catholic  Church  is  putting  forth  extraordinary 
means  to  possess  this  field  and  they  are  meeting  with 
most  signal  success  in  their  efforts. 

In  the  city  of  Philadelphia  one  of  the  old  land  marks, 
the  Old  Fourth  Presbyterian  Church  at  the  corner  of 
1 2th  and  Lombard  streets,  has  gone  out  of  the  hands  of 
the  Presbytery  into  the  hands  of  the  Catholic  Church  in 
which  there  was  organized  some  five  or  six  years  ago  a 
colored  Catholic  Church.  This  church  since  has  been 
handsomely  remodeled  and  fitted  up,  and  every  Sabbath 
there  assembles  in  it  a  large  congregation  of  colored 
people.  On  the  adjoining  lot  South  of  the  Church 
on  Twelfth  street,  there  is  a  very  attractive 
parish  building  which  is  drawing  the  chil- 
dren in  large  numbers.  They  have  also  a  fine 
orphanage  for  girls  along  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
between  this  city  and  Trenton  in  which  they  have 
a  large  number  of  colored  children,  many  of  them 
from  Protestant  families,  and  a  number  of  them 
from  Presbyterian  families  to  my  personal  knowl- 
edge, several  of  them  being  from  families  in  Dr. 
Reeve's  Church,  because  of  their  being  refused  admit- 
tance at  the  Presbyterian  Orphanage.  With  these  facts 
staring  us  in  the  face  think  you  my  brethren  that  the 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  is  awake  to  its  duty  towards 
the  colored  people  in  this  great  city  of  ours,  the  City  of 
Brotherly  love? 
82 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  83 

Think  you  that  these  neglected  thousands  who  are 
ignored  by  our  church  because  God  has  been  pleased  to 
clothe  them  in  a  livery  of  black,  will  not  reach  out  and 
take  hold  of  the  olive  branch  though  it  be  extended  to 
them  by  a  Catholic  hand?  Think  you  by  this  shirking 
of  duty  in  regard  to  this  people  that  you  will  get  rid  oi 
a  responsibility  which  has  been  laid  upon  you,  not  mere- 
ly by  the  Presbytery,  nor  by  the  church  at  large,  but 
by  the  past  history  of  this  country  in  which  you  and 
they  played  a  most  intimate  and  important  part,  and  by 
your  God  who  is  no  respecter  of  persons  who  control 
the  affairs  and  destinies  of  men?  Remember  that, 
"God  is  not  mocked,  for  whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that 
shall  he  also  reap."  These  neglected  thousands  in  Phil- 
adelphia, and  millions  in  this  land  if  not  taken  hold  of 
by  the  Protestant  Church  will  be  taken  hold  of  by  the 
Catholic. 

THE  SUCCESS  OF  THE  CATHOLIC   CHURCH  AMONG  THE 
COLORED  PEOPLE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

How  successful  the  Catholic  Church  has  been  in  its 
efforts  to  secure  the  colored  people  of  this  country, 
their  report  in  the  Catholic  Review  shows  as  given  in 
the  Outlook  for  September,  1896.  The  Catholic  review 
of  New  York  gives  the  number  of  colored  Catholics 
in  several  of  the  large  cities  as  follows:  Baltimore 
35,000,  Charleston  800,  Chicago  400,  Covington  140, 
Galveston  550,  Indian  Territory  200,  Kansas  City  250, 
Little  Rock  100,  Mobile  2,500,  Nashville  500,  Natchez 
1,700,  Natchitoches  9,000,  New  Orleans  8,000,  New 
York,  3,000,  Philadelphia  1,500,  Pittsburg  1,500,  Sava- 
nah  1,200,  San  Antonio  1,200  and  Washington,  D.  C, 
400."  In  all  67,800. 

In  addition  to  this  there  are  3,100  priests  laboring 
in  the  United  States  and  there  are  thirty  seven  churches 
which  have  been  erected  by  colored  Catholics.  These 
figures  speak  volumes.  They  show  that  unless  the 


84  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Presbyterian  Church  seizes  the  opportunity  and  takes 
hold  of  the  colored  people  they  will  go  over  to  the 
Church  of  Rome.  And  when  there  is  observed  the  kind 
manner  in  which  the  Negro  is  received  by  the  Catholics, 
the  obliteration  of  the  colored  line,  there  being  no  ap- 
pearance of  patronism,  but  white  and  black,  rich  and 
poor,  educated  and  ignorant,  meet  in  their  churches  on 
one  common  platform,  and  bow  as  common  sinners 
before  the  same  shrine,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at, 
that  they  are  induced  to  go  into  the  Catholic  Church, 
especially  when  there  is  considered  the  cold  and  indiffer- 
ent manner  in  which  they  are  regarded  by  many  in  the 
Protestant  Church. 

The  tenets  of  the  Catholics  may  be  wrong,  but  they 
far  outgeneral  the  Protestants  in  their  methods  of  get- 
ting hold  of  the  poor  and  ignorant. 

THE  REASONS  WHY  THE  CATHOLIC   CHURCH   SUCCEEDS 
AMONG  THE   COLORED    PEOPLE.- 

The  superior  generalship  of  the  Catholics  is  seen  in 
this  city,  particularly  in  their  work  among  the 
colored  people.  Ten  years  ago  there  was  not  a  church 
among  them  that  had  been  set  apart  for  work 
among  the  colored  people,  and  I  know  that 
this  is  not  counting  the  children.  Now  why 
is  this?  It  is  the  result  of  the  catholicity 
of  spirit  which  is  exhibited.  Take  the  church  I2th  and 
Lombard  Streets,  Philadelphia,  all  Catholics  who 
live  within  the  bounds  of  this  church  worship  there, 
whether  they  are  white  or  black,  and  they  meet 
on  one  common  level,  when  they  cross  the  threshold, 
no  matter  what  their  social  condition  otherwise  might 
be. 

This  is  what  the  poor  man  loves,  it  is  what  the  Negro 
loves.  Yes,  this  is  what  the  honest  conscience  approves 
whether  it  reigns  in  the  bosom  of  the  rich  or 
poor.  The  Catholic  fathers  are  wise  enough  to  see 
this,  and  shrewd  enough  to  put  it  into  actual  practice. 


ITS  RELATION  TO   THE  NEGRO.  85 

Another  reason  for  their  success  in  Philadelphia  is 
the  great  interest  they  take  in  the  children.  Once  a 
year  every  child  connected  with  the  school  I2th  and 
Lombard  streets,  is  given  a  new  suit  of  clothes,  and 
clad  in  it  he  joins  the  children  of  the  other  Catholic 
schools  of  the  city,  in  a  grand  parade  in  honor  of  some 
noted  event  in  the  history  of  the  church.  We  may  not 
approve  of  this  method  of  getting  dhildren  for  the  Sab- 
bath School,  yet  we  can  readily  see  the  effect  it  would 
have  upon  the  children,  especially  upon  those  who  are 
poorly  clad. 

Let  the  Presbyterian  Church  exhibit  a  little  more 
of  this  wisdom,  and  they  will  find  that  the  Negro  will 
take  as  naturally  to  it  as  he  does  to  any  other  church. 
It  is  not  patriotism  the  Negro  wants,  but  a  spirit  of  love 
and  philanthropy  exhibited  towards  him.  He  wants  to 
feel  that  he  is  in  touch  with  the  great  throbbing  heart 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  that  he  is  being  interested 
in  and  loved  by  the  church. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
STAUNCH   FRIENDS  OF  THE  BEREAN   CHURCH   AND  NEGRO. 

But  do  not  think  for  a  moment  that  we  wish  to  im- 
ply that  the  whole  church  exhibits  the  spirit  towards 
the  Negro  which  we  have  described,  not  by  any  means. 
There  is  a  large  and  influential  class  who  are  thor- 
oughly interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  Negro,  and  who 
are  earnestly  employing  their  means  to  assist  him  in 
his  efforts  to  rise.  It  is  from  this  class  that  most  of  the 
means  is  received  which  is  used  in  carrying  on  the  mis- 
sionary work  in  the  South  and  among  the  colored  peo- 
ple in  the  North.  And  it  is  from  this  class  too  that 
most  of  the  funds  are  received  for  church  enterprises 
which  get  but  little  assistance  from  the  General  Boards 
of  the  church.  There  are  hundreds  of  churches  all 
over  the  land  which  are  doing  a  grand  and  glorious 
work  for  Christ  and  humanity  which  would  never  have 
had  an  existence  had  it  not  been  for  rhe  philanthropic 
spirit  exhibited  by  these  friends.  This  is  particularly 
true  of  the  Berean  Church. 

The  Berean  Church  stands  as  a  monument  of  the 
good  deeds  of  these  friends.  Could  it  speak  it  would  be 
resonant  with  their  notes  of  praise.  Yea  it  does  speak, 
for  every  stone  has  a  voice,  every  beam  a  song  of  praise, 
every  room  an  echo  of  gratitude  which  together  make 
up  one  grand  symphony  sounding  forth  the  praises 
of  him  who  had  graciously  inclined  the  hearts  of  his 
servants  to  build  a  church  for  the  poor. 

Too  much  cannot  be  said  in  praise  of  these  friends 
who  assisted  in  the  building  of  the  Berean  Church. 
The  fact  is  there  cannot  be  shown  in  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia a  more  beautiful  exhibition  of  true  Christian 
86 


ITS  RELATION  TO   THE  NEGRO.  87 

philanthropy  than  in  the  grounds  and  buildings  of  this 
church,  which  were  erected  not  alone  by  the  contribu- 
tions of  a  few  rich  friends,  but  by  the  hundreds  of  con- 
tributions which  were  cheerfully  given  the  pastor  to  as- 
sist him  in  his  enterprise,  by  friends  all  over  the  city, 
and  which  are  crystalized  and  exhibited  in  the  grounds 
and  buildings  on  South  College  avenue.  We  would 
like  if  we  could  call  all  these  friends  by  name  and  pre- 
sent them  to  the  Presbytery  that  they  might  receive  its 
commendation,  and  praise,  but  this  would  be  impractic- 
able. We  think  it  would  not  be  amiss  however,  to  give  the 
names  of  a  few  of  the  friends  who  stood  by  us  through 
all  these  years  and  assisted  in  bearing  the  burden  and 
heat  of  the  day.  Among  these  we  would  mention  the 
following,  some  of  whom  have  gone  to  their  reward 
above: 

*Judge  Joseph  Allison,  *Prof.  Charles  A.  Aiken,  D. 
D.,  *Dr.  D.  Hayes  Agnew,  C.  B.  Adamson,  *  William 
Arrot,  William  H.  Arrott,  Miss  Maggie  Brown,  *  Alex- 
ander Brown,  William  H.  Browne,  *Mrs.  Mary  Bayard, 
The  Misses  Barclay,  Mrs.  Henry  Bicldle,  *Gustavus  S. 
Benson,  *Mrs.  Gustavus  S.  Benson,  *William  Brockie, 
Jacob  Brandstetter  and  wife,  *John  Baird,  W.  Atlee 
Burpee,  *James  Bateman,  *Rev.  James  Clark,  D.  D., 
*George  W.  Childs,  Rev.  L.  M.  Colfelt,  D.  D.,  Charles 
H.  Cramp,  *Thomas  Carrick,  *  Alexander  Crow,  Sr., 
E.  R.  Craven,  *David  Garrick,  B.  B.  Comegys, 
Abram  Coats,  Henry  H.  Colline,  Isaac  H.  Clothier, 
E.  W.  Clark,  George  V.  Cresson,  *  Joseph  P.  Cooper, 
Joseph  L.  Caven,  W.  L.  DuBois,  John  Dickey,  *Mrs. 
Mary  Disston,  *James  Dougherty,  John  Dobson,  Rob- 
ert Dornan,  James  Dobson,  John  L.  Davis,  *Hamil- 
ton  Disston,  *Thomas  H.  Davis,  John  W.  Dulles,  *Geo. 
Eyster,  Prof.  Geo.  Eastman,  *Rev.  Wm.  H.  Furness,  D. 
D.,  *Sam'l  Field,  *Jas.  A.  Freeman,  *John  K.  Freedley, 

*  Deceased. 


88  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

*The  Misses  Faries,  Aaron  Faucett,  *A.  W.  Gayley, 
Thomas  G.  Gayley,  C.  B.  Grant,  Henry  D.  Gregory, 
Stephen  Green,  Mrs.  Emma  C.  Grant,  Theo.  R.  Gra- 
ham, H.  G.  Goodrich,  Geo.  Griffiths,  Rev.  Wm.  Green- 
ough,  D.  D.,  *William  Hogg,  *James  Hogg,  A.  K. 
Harkness,  *George  S.  Harris,  *Samuel  S.  Huey,  *H. 
H.  Houston,  *Prof.  C.  W.  Hodge,  D.  D.,  *T.  Charlton 
Henry,  Charles  F.  Hazeltine,  *Barton  Hoopes,  W.  P. 
Henszey,  George  T.  Harris,  Theodore  Kitchen,  *Hur- 
bert  Hogg,  Rev.  J.  Addison  Henry,  D.  D.,  E.  P.  Hip- 
pie, Thomas  G.  Hood,  Frank  Hippie,  *Percy  Heilner, 
*Joseph  Harvey,  *John  O.  Hughs,  *  James  Irwin,  G.  C. 
Purves,  William  A.  Ingham,  Samuel  H.  Jarden,  Mrs. 
Edwin  A.  Johns,  Mrs.  Margaret  Jones,  William  Kelly, 
*H.  G.  Kern,  *Elias  D.  Kennedy,  Mrs.  Mary  F.  Kem- 
ble,  F.  W.  Kennedy,  *Mrs.  Lennox  Kennedy,  A.  K. 
McClure,  Jas.  Moore,*Mr.  Wm.  G.  Moorehead,*Mrs.  John 
McGill,  *  Joseph  J.  Martin,  J.  W.  Moffley  *John  T.  Mc- 
Innis,  *F.  K.  McLaughlin,"  *William  Massey,  *C.  W. 
Middleton,  James  McManes,  *Mrs.  C.  W.  Middleton. 
Mrs.  John  Mclnnis,  *John  Mundell,  Mrs.  James  Mc- 
Manes, George  H.  McFadden,  *George  B.  Markle,  Jos- 
eph D.  McKee,  Thomas  MacKellar,  James  MacAulay, 
George  H.  McFadden,  *Wm.  E.  Montelius,  George  C. 
Naphey,  Wm.  Potter,  Rev.  Matthew  Newkirk,  Prof. 
Allen  Marquand,  * Judge  W.  S.  Peirce,  *Mrs.  Thomas 
Potter,  *Edward  Partridge,  Wm.  A.  Patton,  Vice  Pres- 
ident P.  R.  R.,  *H.  W.  Pitkin,  *Mrs.  Thos.  H.  Powers, 
C.  Pardee,  Charles  Porter,  Joseph  W.  Pattison,  *E.  A. 
Rollins,  C.  P.  Ring,  Craig  D.  Ritchie,  Mrs.  R.  Rhodes, 
Joseph  C.  Roop,  David  Scull,  William  H.  Scott,  Joseph 
Slack,  Samuel  G.  Scott,  Joseph  E.  Smaltz,  *Thomas 
Stinson,  *Elliott  F.  Shepard,  *W.  M.  Sinclair,  John  B. 
Stetson,  *W.  D.  Stroud,  Dr.  James  H.  Schenck,  A.  A. 
Shumway,  Thomas  W.  Synnott,  *  Daniel  O.  Hittner,  The 
Misses  Twaddell,  *Horatio  N.  Thissell,  George  M. 
*  Deceased. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  89 

Troutman,  *P.  H.  Tenbrook,  *David  Vandevere,  Cor- 
nelius W.  Vanderbilt,  *Alexander  Whildin,  Dr.  C.  S. 
Wurts,  *Seldon  S.  Walkley,  John  H.  Watt,  John  Wana- 
maker,  *R.  D.  Wood  Co.,  John  W.  Woodside,  *David 
Young. 

Besides  these  friends,  and  many  others  who  encour- 
aged us  in  our  labors  and  to  whom  we  feel  most  grate- 
ful, there  are  a  few  who  deserve  special  mention. 
Among  these  are: 

Charles  G.  Blatchley,  John  H.  Converse,  William  M. 
Cramp  Joseph  Clough,  Mrs.  Anna  Coates,  Ferdi- 
nand J.  Dreer,  Aaron  Fries,  Hon.  George  S.  Graham, 
H.  G.  Goodrich,  Mrs.  James  Hogg,  Mrs.  C.  L.  Hogg, 
Mr.  William  P.  Henszey,  Samuel  B.  Huey,  Robert  M. 
Hogue,  J.  Renwick  Hogg,  Miss  Emma  Hogg,  C.  W. 
Lawall,  Henry  M.  Lewis,  John  McGill,  Miss  Mary  Otto, 
Robert  C.  Ogden,  Thomas  MacKellar,  Rev.  Wm.  H. 
Miller,  D.  D.,  George  Peirce,  William  S.  Reyburn,  Dr. 
R.  Stewart,  William  M.  Singerly,  V.  C.  Sweatman,  Wil- 
liam Still,  Mrs.  Mary  Singerly,  Mrs.  C.  C.  Sinclair,  W. 
T.  Synnott,  William  Wood,  Thomas  Wood,  Dr.  Edward 
H.  Williams,  W.  W.  Wallace,  Rev.  Charles  Wood,  D.  D. 

Too  much  cannot  be  said  in  praise  of  these  friends, 
for  through  them  principally  the  Berean  Church  owes 
its  permanent  existence.  During  all  these  years  in 
which  we  were  obliged  to  solicit  for  the  debt  they  stood 
ready  with  heart  and  hand  to  encourage  us  in  our  ef- 
forts. Indeed  hardly  a  year  passed  from  the  time  we 
started  to  solicit  funds  in  1881  up  to  the  present  time 
in  which  they  were  not  called  upon  to  assist. 
Occasionally  they  would  be  called  upon  several  times 
in  one  year  and  seldom  would  they  refuse  to  respond. 
Many  times  have  they  come  to  our  rescue  when  we 
were  about  to  fall — times  when  we  were  almost  utterly 
discouraged,  being  foot-sore,  tired,  penniless,  and  sick 
at  heart;  times  when  it  seemed  that  every  friend  had 

*  Deceased. 


90  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

deserted  us,  and  that  we  were  left  alone,  then  we  went 
trembling  to  them  as  a  last  resort,  and  received  just  the 
help  and  encouragement  we  needed.  Oh  how  we 
thanked  almighty  God  for  inclining  their  hearts  to  as- 
sist us,  and  with  what  ecstacies  of  delight  did  our  heart 
burst  forth  in  gratitude  and  praise.  To  them  the  Be- 
rean  Church  and  the  colored  people  of  Philadelphia,  owe 
a  debt  of  gratitude  which  they  will  never  be  able  to 
express  much  less  repay. 

THE  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES. 

Six  of  the  twelve  Trustees  elected  to  the  board  are 
chosen  from  these  friends.  The  church  felt  as  most 
of  the  money  secured  for  the  enterprise  was  contributed 
by  friends  outside  of  the  church  that  it  would  be  only 
right  and  proper  to  let  them  have  a  voice  in  the  man- 
agement of  its  temporalities,  especially  in  holding  the 
property  which  is  valuable.  Besides  the  church  needed 
their  superior  wisdom  and  judgment  as  well  as  business 
experience. 

When  articles  of  incorporation  were  taken  out  in  1890 
twelve  Trustees  were  elected  by  the  church  as  follows : 

Four  were  elected  for  a  term  of  three  years,  four  for 
a  term  of  two,  and  four  for  a  term  of  one  year.  Since 
then  four  Trustees  are  elected  for  three  years  every  year. 
The  pastor  of  the  church  being  a  Trustee  by  virtue  of 
his  office,  and  by  the  constitution  and  by-laws  he  is  the 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

The  personnel  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  when  the 
charter  was  adopted  was  as  follows: 

John  McGill,  Hon.  Geo.  S.  Graham,  James  Porter, 
Samuel  J.  Diton,  elected  for  three  years  from  February 
24th,  1890;  Dr.  Reuel  Stewart,  Wm.  M.  Cramp,  Wesley 
Taylor,  Richard  Thomas,  elected  for  two  years  from 
February  24th,  1890;  Wm.  S.  Reyburn,  J.  Renwick 
Hogg,  Dennis  McKinney,  Geo.  Jayne,  elected  for  one 
year  from  February  24th,  1890. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  91 

The  personnel  of  the  Board  as  it  now  stands,  January 
i,  1897,  is  as  follows: 

John  McGill,  Hon.  Geo.  S.  Graham,  James  Porter, 
Lafayette  Nicholas,  three  years  from  February  24th, 
1896,  to  February  24th,  1899;  Dr.  Reuel  Stewart,  Wm. 
M.  Cramp,  Wesley  Taylor,  Charles  Thomas,  three  years 
from  February  24th,  1895,  to  February  24th,  1898;  Jos- 
eph dough,  J.  Renwick  Hogg,  Dennis  McKinney, 
Richard  Thomas,  three  years  from  February  24th,  1894, 
to  February  24th,  1897. 

The  stated  meetings  of  the  board,  are  four,  annually, 
and  they  are  held  in  April,  June,  September  and  De- 
cember. At  these  meetings  the  accounts  of  the  church 
are  all  carefully  gone  over,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year 
the  books  are  audited. 

At  a  call  meeting  of  the  board,  January,  1896,  the 
auditing  committee,  consisting  of  three  persons  out- 
side of  the  church,  of  which  Dr.  R.  Stewart  was  chair- 
man reported,  that  they  had  gone  over  the  accounts  of 
the  Berean  Church  for  the  last  six  years  inclusive,  and 
that  they  found  the  books  to  be  strictly  correct.  They 
made  also  the  significant  remark  that  they  did  not  be- 
lieve that  there  was  a  church  in  the  city  which  had  its 
accounts  more  accurately  kept.  The  accounts  of  the 
Building  Comittee  and  all  money  raised  for  the  lot, 
church  and  parsonage  was  audited  by  special  commit- 
tee called  by  the  pastor  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Treas- 
urer, Mr.  John  McGill.  The  committee  consisting  of 
Messrs.  Samuel  H.  Jarden,  William  S.  Reyburn,  and 
Dr.  R.  Stewart,  each  one  of  whom  is  outside  of  the 
Church  and  they  reported  that  the  accounts  were  cor- 
rect. 

We  feel  now  that  we  have  given  a  faithful  and  cor- 
rect account  of  our  work  in  the  Berean  Church  from 
the  time  we  took  charge,  October  I4th,  1879,  to  Octo- 
ber I4th,  1896,  embracing  a  period  of  seventeen  years, 
and  we  hope  that  a  careful  reading  of  what  has  been 


92  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

written  will  lead  not  only  to  a  better  understanding  of 
the  internal  life  of  the  Berean  Church  and  field,  the 
motives  and  efforts  of  the  pastor,  but  also  to  a  livelier 
interest  in  this  church  and  the  needs  of  the  colored  peo- 
ple generally.  We  hope  that  a  careful  perusal  of  the 
facts  enumerated  will  lead  the  great  Presbytery  of  Phila- 
delphia to  do  a  great  and  glorious  work  within  its  very 
bounds  for  God  and  humanity,  and  that  they  will  be 
induced  to  seize  upon  it  at  once.  We  hope  that  the 
Presbytery  and  friends  of  the  Negro  will  take  hold  of 
the  work  which  has  already  been  begun  by  the  Berean 
Church  and  assist  in  developing  it  and  thus  make  of  this 
church  a  great  and  a  mighty  power  in  the  elevation  of 
the  Negro.  Could  our  humble  efforts  accomplish  this  we 
will  ask  no  more. 

There  are  two  or  three  other  items  of  which  we  are 
in  honor  bound  to  speak  before  closing.  One  of  these 
has  been  alluded  to  several  times,  and  we  promised  to 
refer  to  the  same  more  particularly  at  the  close. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

EVENTS  IN   MR.  ANDERSON'S   EXPERIENCE. 

We  have  frequently  said  it  and  the  more  we  examine 
our  experience  the  more  are  we  convinced  of  their  cor- 
rectness namely  that  the  experiences  of  our  life  have 
been  the  unexpected.  Possibly  this  is  what  every  other 
man  thinks  of  himself  or  of  his  past  life,  certainly  it  is 
what  we  feel  has  been  true  in  regard  to  ourselves. 
From  the  time  of  our  entering  upon  the  ministry  until 
the  present  it  has  been  the  unexpected.  Indeed  our 
studying  for  the  ministry  at  all  was  the  unexpected,  we 
had  no  thought  when  we  entered  college  of  being  a  min- 
ister of  the  Gospel.  Our  aim  was  to  fit  ourselves  for 
the  greatest  practical  good  in  our  power,  for  God  and 
humanity,  especially  in  lifting  the  shadows  from  the  race 
with  which  we  were  identified,  and  though  we  had  no 
thought  of  studying  for  the  ministry  when  we  had 
completed  our  college  course  at  Oberlin  we  found  our- 
selves in  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  almost  with- 
out knowing  how  we  got  there.  Brought  up  in  the 
country  upon  a  farm,  long  way  from  any  town  or  city, 
we  had  often  in  our  youthful  longings  wished  to  live 
for  a  while  at  least  in  a  great  city  especially  in  New  York. 
When  we  were  about  to  graduate  at  Princeton  an  urgent 
call  came  to  come  to  New  York,  immediately,  to  do  spec- 
ial work  for  the  American  Missionary  Association,  and 
though  we  offered  many  objections  as  we  had  other 
plans,  the  call  was  so  pressing  that  we  went.  This 
was  our  Second  Unexpected.  We  had  often  had  a 
longing  desire  when  a  youth  to  have  the  opportunity 
to  attend  some  good  Eastern  College  as  Yale,  Amherst, 

93 


94  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

Harvard,  etc.,  but  the  thought  was  abandoned  because 
we  had  not  the  means  to  go.  Instead  we  went  West 
and  graduated  at  Oberlin  after  which  we  came  to  Prince- 
ton, and  as  we  have  said  from  there  we  went 
to  New  York.  Just  as  we  were  about  to  fin- 
ish the  work  we  had  gone  to  New  York  to 
do,  we  received  an  urgent  call  to  come  to  New 
Haven,  Conn.,  to  supply  the  Temple  Street  Congregational 
Church,  there,  a  church  we  had  never  heard  of,  much 
less  sought,  neither  had  we  any  thought  of  going  East 
at  the  time,  as  it  had  not  occurred  to  us  that  New  Haven 
was  the  seat  of  Yale.  Having  no  other  opening  and 
no  good  reason  why  we  should  not  accept,  we  went  The 
church  would  consent  to  have  but  one  service,  only  one 
sermon  was  to  be  preached  on  the  Sabbath,  and  but  one 
prayer  meeting  held  during  the  week.  Having  so 
much  leisure  at  our  command  we  concluded  to  matricu- 
late in  the  Seminary  and  take  a  post  graduate  course, 
which  we  did.  This  was  our  Third  Unexpected  experi- 
ence. 

From  the  time  we  resolved  to  study  for  the  ministry  we 
concluded  that  the  field  for  which  we  had  the  most 
natural  fitness  was  the  mission  field,  a  thought  which 
we  never  abandoned.  Accordingly  we  resigned  the 
work  in  New  Haven  after  two  years  of  service  as  a 
supply,  and  in  the  spring  of  1879  started,  ostensively 
for  the  South,  to  engage  in  mission  work  there.  Stop- 
ping over  for  a  few  days  in  Philadelphia  as  the  guest 
of  Dr.  Reeve.  While  at  Dr.  Reeve's  home  he  casually  sug- 
gested that  we  should  take  hold  of  the  Gloucester  Mission, 
Philadelphia,  which  had  been  started  by,  and  was  under 
the  spiritual  oversight  of  his  church,  the  Lombard  Street 
Central.  We  had  never  heard  of  the  mission  before, 
and  of  course  could  have  had  no  thought  about  it. 
After  much  thought  and  prayer  over  the  subject,  and 
consultation  with  friends,  it  was  decided  that  we  take 
charge  of  the  work  here.  On  the  i4th  of  October, 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  95 

1879,  as  before  stated,  we  took  charge  of  this  work. 
This  was  our  Fourth  Unexpected. 

We  had  not  labored  many  months-  before  it  was  ap- 
parent, that  if  we  would  have  permanency  in  the  work 
there  must  be  a  church  building.  The  Subject  was 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadel- 
phia Central. 

THE  ACTION  OF  THE  PRESBYTERY  OF  PHILADELPHIA  CENTRAL. 

Considerable  interest  was  manifested  on  the  part  of 
the  brethren,  nearly  a  thousand  dollars  was  at  once 
pledged  towards  a  lot  and  building,  not  by  the  Presby- 
tery as  such,  but  by  individual  Brethren  who  spoke  in 
behalf  of  the  object.  At  the  same  time  the  Mission  was 
transferred  from  the  care  of  Central  Church  to  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Philadelphia  Central,  which  voted  unanimously 
to  take  both  it  and  its  Missionary,  and  they  jocosly  christ- 
ened it  "Our  Black  Baby."  All  this  was  unexpected,  and 
constituted  our  Fifth  Unexpected  experience. 

INTEREST  SHOWN  BY  MR.  SAMUEL  H.  JARDEN. 

Wishing  to  crystalize  the  generous  pledges  of  the 
brethren  into  tangible  and  legal  form  which  they  had 
made  public  on  the  floor  of  Presbytery,  we  went  to 
each  of  them  after  sufficient  time  had  elapsed  to  have 
them  subscribe  in  our  book  over  their  signatures  the 
amount  they  had  named,  but  to  our  surprise  all  of  these 
brethren  except  one,  positively  refused,  giving  as  a 
reason  for  their  unexpected  action,  that  they  wanted 
more  evidence  that  the  Mission  was  needed,  and  that 
we  would  succeed. 

MR.  SAMUEL  H.  JARDEN. 

Mr.  vSamuel  H.  Jarden,  on  the  contrary,  an  Elder  of 
the  Green  Hill  Church  did  not  hesitate  to  subscribe  on 
our  book  $250,  the  amount  which  he  had  publicly  named 
on  the  floor  of  Presbytery.  Thus  he  became  the  first 
to  subscribe  to  the  Berean  Presbyterian  Church,  and 


96  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

hence  was  the  fulcrum  by  which  we  were  able  to  secure 
other  subscriptions  which  led  to  the  final  success  of  the 
undertaking. 

Mr.  Jarden  in  drawing  up  the  conditions  made  his  and 
all  other  subscripitons  following  to  be  binding,  only 
on  condition  that  there  be  subscribed  $6,000.  in  two 
years  from  date.  His  motive  for  doing  this  as  we 
know  positively  was  not  to  defeat  the  object,  but  to  in- 
spire us  to  go  forward  and  to  encourage  liberal  contri- 
butions. Mr.  Jarden  made  his  subscription  and  wrote 
the  conditions  on  the  I4th  of  May,  1881. 

Many  smiled  when  they  saw  it.  On  the  strength  of  it 
the  Presbytery  most  willingly  and  unanimously  author- 
ized the  pastor  of  the  Berean  Church  to  go  forward  and 
raise  ten  or  fifteen  thousand  dollars  for  a  lot  and  building. 
Few  believed  that  it  would  be  accomplished,  that  is, 
the  raising  of  six  thousand  dollars  in  two  years,  which 
if  not  accomplished  would  of  course  defeat  the  whole. 
But  we  never  doubted  it  and  went  forward  with  the  in- 
ward assurance  of  success.  But  we  were  at  times  se- 
verely tried. 

ALMOST  READY  TO  GIVE  UP. 

Eighteen  months  had  passed  and  there  had  been  sub- 
scribed on  our  books  as  yet,  but  thirty-five  hundred 
dollars.  We  knew  not  where  to  go,  we  had  walked  all 
over  the  city  and  called  on  every  charitably  disposed 
man  and  woman  whose  names  we  had  learned.  We  did 
not  know  what  to  do.  Tired  in  body  and  mind,  strive 
as  we  would  the  fear  would  come  stealing  over  us  that  we 
might  not  succeed,  for  there  were  $2,500  still  to  raise  and 
only  six  months  time  in  which  to  raise  it.  Never  have  we 
felt  more  despondent  than  we  did  on  one  bright  morn- 
ing in  November,  1882,  when  we  left  our  residence  for 
a  day's  tramp  for  subscriptions.  Everything  was  blank 
before  us,  there  was  not  a  single  person  in  all  Philadel- 
phia of  whom  we  had  the  least  intimation  that  he  would 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  97 

respond  to  our  appeal.  We  were  wretched.  The 
thought  of  failing  after  having  thirty-five  hundred  hun- 
dred dollars  subscribed  was  most  discouraging.  We 
walked  the  streets  but  we  knew  not  whither,  and  hardly 
knew  for  what  purpose.  The  thought  finally  came  to 
us  like  a  flash,  "go  and  see  Mr.  McGill  and  tell  him  all." 
But  we  rebelled  against  the  thought.  "Why  go  and  see 
him,"  we  argued,  "when  he  has  only  given  us  $5  within 
two  years,  though  we  had  gone  to  see  him  often  within 
that  time?"  Still  the  thought  would  keep  repeating 
itself,  "go  and  see  Mr.  McGill  and  tell  him  all."  It 
might  be  well  to  state  here  that  Mr.  Horatio  N.  Thissell 
an  Elder  in  the  Alexander  Presbyterian  Church,  now 
West  Green,  and  also  the  foreman  of  the  American  Tract 
Society's  Book  Store,  in  Philadelphia,  was  very  much 
interested  in  the  Berean  Church  and  he  was  the  writer's 
principal  counsellor.  He  would  say  to  him  "Mr.  Ander- 
son there  is  no  better  man  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia 
than  Mr.  McGill.  He  is  a  man  of  few  words  but  when 
he  decides  to  do  a  thing  he  does  it.  I  believe  that  he 
will  be  led  to  assist  you  in  your  efforts  to  build  a 
church.  Go  and  see  him  and  tell  him  all.  See  him 
often."  Hardly  a  month  passed  during  these  two  years 
from  the  time  that  Mr.  Thissell  first  advised  us  that  we 
did  not  call  on  Mr.  McGill,  but  as  we  have  said  all  that 
he  gave  us  in  that  time  was  $5,  and  he  did  not  give  us 
the  least  assurance  that  we  were  making  any  impression 
upon  him  whatever.  Hence  when  the  thought  came  to 
us  on  the  morning  in  question  bidding  us,  "go  and  see 
Mr.  McGill."  We  were  full  of  rebellion  against  it.  But 
having  no  one  else  pointed  out  to  us  upon  whom  to  call 
this  seemed  to  be  the  only  olive  branch  of  hope. 

MR.  McGiLL's  REVELATION  TO  MR.  ANDERSON. 

We  therefore  concluded  to  go,  though  we  might  be 
driven  out  of  his  office  when  we  entered.     But  our  sur- 
prise can  be  imagined,  when  he  greeted  us  most  cor- 
7 


98  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

dially,  shaking  us  by  the  hand,  when  we  entered  and  at 
the  same  time,  addressing  us  thus,  "Mr.  Anderson  I  am 
glad  you  called,  I  want  to  know  where  the  colored  peo- 
ple live  and  where  a  church  should  be  located  in  order 
to  be  central  to  them ;  and  also  where  vacant  lots  are  for 
sale  in  the  neighborhood,  in  which  you  would  have  a 
church,  for  I  have  sent  my  agent  out  to  see  what  a 
lot  for  a  church  could  be  secured  for."  Never  in  all 
my  life  had  anything  so  completely  overcome  me.  I 
had  gone  to  his  office  not  expecting  to  receive  any  en- 
couragement whatever  but  rather  discouragement.  I 
went  feeling  most  wretched,  my  hope  had  almost  gone. 
But  this  unexpected  news  almost  unbalanced  me.  I 
could  hardly  answer  for  the  emotions  of  joy  which  welled 
up  in  my  throat  and  the  suffusion  of  tears  which  filled 
my  eyes.  Continuing  he  said,  "I  have  thought  Mr. 
Anderson  that  as  I  may  not  be  able  to  give  you  any  large 
amount  of  money,  I  might  be  of  service  in  assisting  you 
to  secure  a  lot  and  building  a  church,  from  my  exper- 
ience as  a  business  man.  All  of  his  questions  were  an- 
swered to  the  best  of  our  ability  in  the  order  in  which 
they  were  asked.  We  told  him  of  a  lot  on  Girard 
avenue  between  iQth  and  2oth  streets  concerning  which 
we  had  been  in  correspondence  with  the  agent,  for  which 
he  asked  $6,300. 

THE  SEVENTH  UNEXPECTED. 

This  interview  with  Mr.  McGill  on  this  bright  No- 
vember morning  and  the  revelation  he  made  was  the 
Seventh  Unexpected  in  our  history.  From  that  time 
to  the  present,  so  far  as  our  experience  with  Mr.  McGill 
is  concerned  it  has  been  the  unexpected  all  the  way 
through.  It  was  due  to  Mr.  McGill  wholly  that  we 
were  able  to  meet  the  conditions  on  which  the  money  was 
to  be  subscribed  and  thus  secure  the  six  thousand  dollars 
we  started  out  to  raise. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  99 

MR.  McGiLL  TOOK  HOLD. 

Mr.  McGill  first  purchased  the  lot  on  Girard  avenue 
for  $4,500  and  afterwards  sold  the  same  for  $6,000,  turn- 
ing over  to  the  credit  of  the  church  fifteen  hundred 
dollars,  made  by  the  transaction.  Thus  within  a  few 
weeks  with  his  assistance  the  $6,000  were  secured,  and 
we  were  able  to  demand  all  the  subscriptions.  He  also 
subscribed  at  this  time  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  on 
our  book. 

Mr.  McGill  next  purchased  the  large  and  valuable  lot 
on  South  College  avenue  136x147  feet,  between  igth  and 
2oth  streets,  on  which  he  erected  the  beautiful  blue 
marble  church,  which  is  so  generally  admired,  and  two 
dwellings,  numbers  1926  and  1928;  the  former  for  a  par- 
sonage and  the  latter  for  sale.  His  plan  was,  th5t  what- 
ever was  made  from  the  sale  of  this  dwelling  should  be 
turned  over  to  the  church  towards  the  debt  on  grounds 
and  buildings.  When  the  parsonage  was  completed,  he 
had  the  Pastor  and  his  family  move  into  the  house, 
charging  him  only  a  nominal  rental,  as  his  salary  was 
small;  and  that  he  might  not  be  the  least  embarrassed 
from  the  outlays  he  was  obliged  to  make  for  carpet  and 
etc.,  he  gave  him  four  months  rent  free.  A  more  gener- 
ous and  noble  act  of  kindness  it  has  not  been  our  good 
fortune  to  witness. 

From  the  time  that  Mr.  McGill  expressed  an  interest 
in  the  church  in  1882,  he  has  been  the  same  kind  unas- 
suming friend,  and  though  he  did  not  build  the  church 
alone,  in  the  sense  that  he  contributed  all  the  funds  or 
the  larger  part  of  them,  yet  his  spirit,  his  great  noble 
heartedness  is  impressed  about  all  Berean.  And 
the  amount  of  good  he  is  doing  in  the  way  of  infusing 
a  spirit  of  thrift  and  independence  in  the  minds  of  hun- 
dreds of  the  poor  colored  people  in  this  city  through  the 
Berean  Church  is  incalcuable.  While  we  take  to  our- 
selves the  honor  of  projecting  the  Berean  Building  and 
Loan  Association,  it  has  been  Mr.  McGill's  persevering 


I  oo  2WESU  YTERIA  NISM. 

and  untiring  efforts  which  has  brought  it  where  it  is. 
While  we  are  greatly  indebted  to  many  other  friends 
for  valuable  assistance  rendered  us  in  our  efforts  to  pay 
off  the  debt  on  the  Berean  Church  it  is  to  Mr.  McGill 
principally  that  we  are  indebted.  His  cheering  words,  his 
wise  counsels,  his  generous  contributions,  and  his  con- 
stancy are  to  the  pastor  and  the  Berean  Church  and  to 
the  colored  people  generally,  blessings  that  can  not  be 
measured. 

OTHER  FRIENDS. 

There  are  other  friends  also  who  not  only  gave  liber- 
ally but  whose  hearts  have  gone  out  in  travail  for  the 
success  of  our  work.  Among  these  are  Mr.  William  S. 
Reyburn,  Mr.  Thomas  Wood,  Mr.  William  Wood,  Mr. 
V.  C.  Sweatman,  Mr.  J.  Renwick  Hogg,  Mr.  Robert  M. 
Hogue,  Mr.  John  H.  Converse,  Dr.  Edwin  Williams, 
Mrs.  Jas.  Hogg,  Mrs.  Anna  Coates,  Mrs.  C.  L.  Hogg 
and  daughters.  Ten  years  ago  one  of  our  friends  above 
named  Mrs.  H.  came  to  the  pastor  of  the  Berean  Church 
and  expressed  a  desire  to  have  a  class  in  his  Sabbath 
School.  The  class  was  most  gladly  given  and  she  has 
been  one  of  the  most  faithful  and  devoted  teachers  of 
the  Berean  Church  School  from  that  time  to  the  pres- 
ent. Nothing  but  sickness  or  absence  from  the  city  pre- 
vents her  from  being  at  her  post  of  duty.  Rain  or  shine, 
cold  or  hot,  snow  or  mud,  she  is  found  in  her  class  and 
ready  to  give  a  cheerful  and  encouraging  word  to  all. 
No  one  of  our  friends  has  so  completely  won  the  hearts 
of  the  church  and  the  Sabbath  School  as  this  noble 
Christian  worker. 

Had  we  the  time  we  would  like  to  take  each  one  of 
our  brethren  in  the  ministry  by  the  hand,  especially 
those  who  have  been  particularly  helpful  to  us  in  our 
work  and  thank  them  heartily  for  their  kindness.  Such  as 
Drs.  Agnew,  Beale,  Cattell  Dana,  Robert  Fulton,  Robert 
Graham,  Hunter,  J.  A.  Henry,  Greenough,  R.  T.  Jones, 


ITS  RELATION  TO   THE  NEGRO.  101 

Loucks,  McCook,  Monro,  Mutchmore,  Henry  A.  Nel- 
son, Newkirk,  John  B.  Reeve,  Rice,  Rommel,  Sands, 
Wadsworth,  Wood,  T.  J.  Lee,  Worden,  Wylie,  Emerson, 
L.  Y.  Graham,  Miller,  of  Bryn  Mawr,  and  Prof.  Hugh 
M.  Browne,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  Henry  J.  Van  Dyke, 
Jr.,  D.  D.,  of  New  York,  Wm.  M.,  Paxton,  D.  D.,  of 
Princeton,  N.  J.,  F.  J.  Grimkie,  D.  D.,  of  Washington,  D. 
C.,  J.  Andrew  Crawford,  D.  D.,  of  Chambersburg,  Pa., 
Wm.  A.  Lynch,  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  Wm.  R.  Templeton, 
of  Reading,  Pa.,  Thomas  H.  Robinson,  D.  D.,  of  the 
Western  Theological  Seminary,  R.  H.  Armstrong,  of 
Harrisburg,  H.  Weaver,  D.  D.,  and  Edward  F.  Eggleson, 
of  Baltimore,  and  many  others  both  ministerial  and 
lay  brethren.  To  all  of  them  we  wish  to  express  our 
heart  felt  thanks  for  their  many  acts  of  kindness  to  us 
and  the  church  we  love,  the  Berean,  and  for  thus  aiding 
us  in  our  feeble  efforts  to  advance  Presbyterianism  not 
only  among  the  colored  people  in  Philadelphia  but 
throughout  the  country  at  large. 

THE  PHILADELPHIA  SENTINEL. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  Philadelphia  Sen- 
tinel on  the  work  of  the  Berean  Church,  May  i8th,  1889: 

"Notwithstanding  Mr.  Anderson  succeeded  in  secur- 
ing $6,000  in  two  years,  the  time  he  had  obligated  him- 
self to  secure  it,  and  a  lot  had  been  purchased  yet  he  had 
not  succeeded  in  arousing  the  faith  of  his  own  people, 
to  assist  in  securing  the  same.  Indeed  so  weak  was 
their  faith  that  they  not  only  refused  to  believe  that  he 
had  succeeded  in  raising  the  $6,000  in  the  two  years,  but 
they  also  refused  to  believe,  that  a  lot  was  purchased, 
until  the  corner  stone  was  laid  and  the  report  was  pub- 
licly read  and  circulated,  that  the  church  was  a  certainty. 

"It  was  this  lack  of  co-operation  on  the  part  of  his 
own  people  as  well  as  the  want  of  faith  on  the  part  of 
others  that  made  the  work  so  exceedingly  laborious  and 
discouraging.  On  the  2nd  of  November,  1884,  the  new 


1 02  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

church  was  formally  opened  to  the  public.  The  sermon 
was  preached  by  Rev.  Wm.  M.  Paxton,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 
Professor  in  Princeton  Theological  Seminary.  The 
opening  services  were  carried  through  the  month  of 
November  and  were  participated  in  by  the  clergy  of  the 
city,  white  and  colored,  and  also  prominent  clergymen 
of  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  such  as  Rev,  Marvin  R. 
Vincent,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Henry  J.  Van  Dyke,  D.  D.,  who  had 
been  a  class  mate  of  Mr.  Anderson's  at  Princeton,  Rev. 
Howard  Crosby,  D.  D.,  and  Rev.  Theodore  L.  Cuyler, 
D.  D.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

"The  church  in  architecture  is  Gothic  in  style,  is  built 
of  blue  marble  and  has  all  the  conveniences  of  a  well 
arranged  church  building.  The  grounds  are  beautifully 
laid  off  in  walks  and  flower  beds  which  add  very  much 
to  its  attractive  appearance.  The  church  cost  including 
the  furnishing,  over  $33,000.  When  the  account  was 
audited  the  24th  of  April,  1888,  it  was  found  that  there 
had  been  paid  in,  $18,558.23,  leaving  a  balance  of  a  float- 
ing debt  due  Mr.  McGill,  5,141.57  and  a  bond  and  mort- 
gage of  $5,000,  which  would  be  a  total  debt  of  $10,141.57. 
Thus  the  lot  and  church,  up  to  this  point  had  cost  $28,- 
699.80.  The  furnishing  of  the  church  which  it  is  pro- 
posed to  have  done  in  a  short  time  with  the  interest  on 
the  debt,  will  make  the  completed  church  stand  about 
$33,000. 

"On  the  24th  of  April,  1888,  Mr.  Anderson  moved 
forward  to  receive  subscriptions  to  lift  the  debt  of  $10,- 
141.57,  standing  against  the  church,  binding  himself  to 
all,  who  would  give  him  $100  and  upwards  to  raise  the 
whole  amount  in  one  year  from  date.  Only  a  few  of  those 
who  put  down  their  names  for  $100  believed  he  would 
succeed  in  raising  the  amount  in  that  time.  But  on  the 
23rd  of  April,  1889,  he  had  secured  as  subscriptions  on 
his  book  toward  the  debt,  $10,235,  $93.43  over  the 
amount  he  set  out  to  raise.  This  he  did  in  one  year  to 
a  day. 


ITS  RELATION   TO  THE  NEGRO.  103 

"It  would  be  interesting  to  note  here  that  Mr.  McGill, 
the  gentleman  who  befriended  Mr.  Anderson,  when  he 
was  the  most  discouraged  on  raising  the  first  $6000  be- 
came his  warmest  and  best  friend,  assuming  all  the  finan- 
cial obligations,  paying  all  bills  and  waiting  for  Mr.  An- 
derson to  refund  the  money.  He  not  only  purchased 
the  lot  but  put  up  the  church,  consulting  Mr.  Anderson 
in  every  detail,  wishing  to  carry  out  strictly  his  desire 
and  that  of  his  people,  the  same  being  true  also  of  the 
parsonage.  No  one  but  he  who  is  engaged  in  a  work 
of  the  kind  can  understand  how  great  this  assistance  was, 
and  how  grateful,  not  only  the  Berean  Presbyterian 
Church  should  be,  but  also  all  who  are  interested  in  the 
success  of  our  people,  to  Mr.  McGill  for  his  services. 
When  Mr.  Anderson  started  out  to  lift  the  debt  of  $10,000, 
Mr.  McGill  at  once  put  down  his  name  for  $2500.  Within 
three  weeks  of  the  time,  when  the  whole  amount  should 
be  raised,  there  was  needed  still  $2600,  and  Mr.  McGill 
fearing  that  Mr.  Anderson  would  likely  fail,  again  sub- 
scribed 1000,  making  $3500  that  he  subscribed  on  the 
the  debt  at  this  time.  In  all,  besides  the  labor  he  gave 
in  supervising  the  putting  up  of  the  building,  and  money 
he  solicited,  he  subscribed  $4000.  His  partner  in  busi- 
ness gave  $1000,  making  $5000  from  members  of  one 
firm. 

"But  in  speaking  of  what  Mr.  McGill  and  his  partner, 
Mr.  Wm.  Wood,  have  done,  we  must  not  fail  to  notice 
what  many  of  the  other  friends  have  done  in  the  way 
of  assisting  Mr.  Anderson  in  this  work.  Among  these 
friends  we  might  notice  Mr.  James  Hogg,  who  was 
among  the  very  first  to  assist  and  who  placed  a  window 
in  the  church  to  the  memory  of  his  father;  also  his  broth- 
er, Mr.  Wm.  Hogg.  These  friends  have  both  passed 
away,  but  they  still  speak.  A  window  has  been  erected 
to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Wm.  Hogg,  by  his  widow,  in  the 
Berean  Church. 

"Notice  should  also  be  taken  of  Wm.  Arrott,  since 


104  PRESBYTER  IANISM. 

deceased.  This  gentleman  had  taken  a  most  active  inter- 
est in  the  success  of  the  enterprise,  having  agreed  to 
stand  by  Mr.  McGill  until  all  the  money  was  raised. 
Also  Mr.  Wm.  Reyburn,  father  of  the  Senator,  who  has 
given  most  liberally;  a  gentleman  who  is  not  only  a 
warm  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Anderson,  but  who  is  inter- 
ested in  the  general  elevation  of  the  colored  race.  Also 
Mr.  John  H.  Converse,  who  has  given  repeatedly,  ag- 
gregating upwards  of  $1000;  and  Dr.  R  .Stewart,  who 
not  only  gave  of  his  means  but  has  been  most  helpful 
to  Mr.  Anderson  with  his  counsels;  and  Dr.  Stewart 
Werts,  who  gave  freely  to  the  work.  But  neither  time 
nor  space  will  permit  to  speak  of  all  the  friends  person- 
ally who  have  aided  in  this  work.  Had  v:e  time  and 
space  we  might  mention  Mrs.  Mary  Disston  and  her 
sons,  Mr.  Alexander  Whilldin,  who  always  had  a  word 
of  encouragement  to  give ;  Mr.  Joseph  Clough,  who  was 
among  the  first  to  urge  Mr.  Anderson  forward;  Mr. 
Thomas  Wood,  Mr.  Joseph  L.  Caven,  Mr.  Joseph  J. 
Martin,  the  Misses  Otto,  Mrs.  Catharine  M.  Singerly, 
who  always  had  a  word  of  encouragement,  and  Mrs. 
James  Hogg,  who  is  one  of  Mr.  Anderson's  friends,  a 
teacher  in  the  Sabbath  School,  and  who  has  ever  been 
ready  to  encourage  him  in  his  efforts.  The  same  is  also 
true  of  her  sons.  Also  Mrs  Wm.  Hogg  and  her  daugh- 
ter; Mrs.  Anna  M.  Grant,  Mrs.  Anna  Coates,  Messrs. 
John  and  James  Dobson,  who,  though  they  have  never 
seen  the  church,  have  given  freely  toward  the  building; 
Mr.  Wm.  M.  Cramp,  the  ship  builder,  who,  though  not  at 
all  interested  at  first,  has  since  given  upwards  of  $500; 
Hon.  Geo.  S.  Graham,  Mr.  V.  C.  Sweatman,  Mr.  Charles 
G.  Blatchley,  Mr.  C.  W.  Lawall,  Mr.  Wm.  M.  Singerly, 
proprietor  of  the  Record ;  Judge  Joseph  Allison,  Messrs. 
Wm.  G.  Massey,  James  Moore,  Charles  Porter,  Samuel 
C.  Huey;  Mrs.  Matthew  Baird,  James  A.  Freeman, 
George  W.  Childs,  Wm.  C.  Henszey,  Wm.  H.  Kemble 
and  Wm.  Still. 


ITS  RELATION  TO   THE  NEGRO.  105 

All  these  friends  have  given  $100  and  upwards,  many- 
others  have  given  in  less  amounts,  but  all  have  given 
freely  and  as  much  as  they  have  given  to  any  other  simi- 
lar enterprise.  But  it  must  be  understood  that  these  sub- 
scriptions were  not  obtained  by  the  mere  asking  but  only 
after  the  most  urgent  importunities  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Anderson,  he  often  being  obliged  to  call  on  an  individual 
over  twenty  times  before  obtaining  a  subscription.  For 
eight  years  Mr.  Anderson  has  walked  the  streets  of 
Philadelphia  day  and  night,  going  everywhere  he 
thought  it  was  possible  to  obtain  a  subscription,  meet- 
ing with  every  manner  of  insult,  having  doors  slammed 
in  his  face,  ordered  out  of  offices  and  treated  in  every 
way  unbecoming  his  position  as  a  Christian  minister 
and  a  gentleman. 

"Mr.  Anderson's  experience  in  raising  funds  for  his 
church  was  that  of  every  colored  man  who  has  attempted 
to  do  the  same,  for  every  colored  man  who  has  gone 
out  to  collect  funds  had  to  meet  the  prejudices  of  the 
whites.  Invariably  he  is  looked  upon  as  a  poor  colored 
beggar,  having  nothing  himself,  representing  a  people 
who  are  very  poor  and  a  cause  beneath  their  considera- 
tion, and  the  subscriptions  he  receives  are  in  keeping 
with  the  manner  in  which  his  cause  is  considered.  Mr. 
Anderson  resolved  from  the  very  first  to  compel  respect 
both  for  himself  and  the  cause  he  represented.  He  re- 
solved never  to  allow  an  insult  to  pass  unnoticed  but  to 
meet  by  argument  every  attempt  to  belittle  him  and  his 
work  as  well  as  the  race  he  represented.  In  this  way 
he  did  much  to  raise  the  standard  of  his  people  by  com- 
pelling the  attention  of  those  who  heretofore  had  little 
or  no  respect  for  the  colored  race.  The  following  are 
some  examples  of  the  manner  in  which  he  treated  the 
disrespect  of  the  whites: 

On  one  occasion,  when  ordered  out  of  the  house, 
and  having  the  door  slammed  behind  him  by  one  of  the 
chief  officials  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  Mr.  Ander- 


106  PRESB  YTERIANTSM. 

son  wrote  him  a  very  plain  and  severe  letter,  showing 
the  smallness  of  his  action,  the  character  of  the  position 
he  occupied  in  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  the  occupant 
of  which  was  supposed  to  be  a  gentleman,  the  character 
of  his  (Mr.  Anderson's)  enterprise,  the  character  of  the 
gentlemen  who  were  backing  him  in  his  enterprise,  and 
he  closed  by  saying  that  "five  hundred  souls  as  small  as 
his  could  dance  on  the  point  of  a  cambric  needle."  Suf- 
fice it  to  say  that  this  gentleman  answered  Mr.  Ander- 
son's letter,  apologizing  for  his  action,  with  a  check  en- 
closed. 

On  another  occasion  the  proprietor  of  one  of  our  lead- 
ing newspapers,  when  first  approached  by  Mr.  Anderson 
on  the  subject  of  a  subscription  for  his  church,  cursed 
him  and  ordered  him  out  of  his  office.  He  left,  but  on 
leaving,  remarked  that  he  would  call  again  when  he  (the 
proprietor)  he  hoped  would  be  in  a  better  frame  of  mind. 
He  did  call,  and  several  times,  getting  from  this  same 
gentleman  upwards  of  $400,  and  he  is  now  one  of  his 
best  friends. 

On  another  occasion  Mr.  Anderson  called  to  receive 
the  subscription  from  a  prominent  gentleman  who  had 
subscribed  on  his  book.  This  gentleman,  in  making  out 
the  check,  refused  to  make  it  out  in  Mr.  A.'s  name,  but 
in  the  name  of  a  friend,  evidently  because  he  had  no 
confidence  in  him  on  account  of  his  color.  Mr.  Ander- 
son received  the  check  but  was  very  indignant.  The 
next  morning  he  returned  the  check  with  the  remark 
that  all  the  other  checks  had  been  made  out  in  his  name, 
and  if  he  could  not  make  out  his  check  of  $25  in  Mr. 
Anderson's  name  he  had  better  keep  it.  He  looked 
at  Mr.  Anderson  for  a  moment,  took  the  check,  tore  it 
in  pieces  and  wrote  another  in  his  name.  From  that 
time  to  the  present  he  has  been  one  of  our  best  friends 
and  has  his  respect  heightened  for  the  colored  people. 

On  another  occasion  Mr.  And'erson  called  on  a  very 
wealthy  lady  for  a  subscription.  To  his  dismay  and 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  107 

disgust,  the  servant  handed  him  from  the  lady,  twenty- 
five  cents.  Mr.  A.  at  once  handed  it  back  to  the  servant, 
telling  him  to  give  the  madam  his  compliments  and  to 
say  to  her,  that  he  was  not  receiving  twenty-five  cents 
from  ladies  of  her  standing.  But  Mr.  Anderson,  fearing 
that  this  chuckle-headed  Irishman,  for  he  was  very  in- 
sulting, would  simply  stuff  the  twenty-five  cents  into 
his  pocket  and  say  nothing  to  the  madam,  wrote  her  a 
plain  but  polite  letter,  giving  her  to  understand  the  na- 
ture of  the  enterprise  and  the  interest  taken  in  it  by  many 
of  her  friends,  some  of  them  neighbors,  and  wound  up  by 
saying  that  he  felt  sure  she  could  not  have  understood 
who  he  was  or  the  character  of  his  work,  or  she  would 
not  have  sent  down  twenty-five  cents,  and  it  was  for 
this  reason  he  had  returned  it  to  her  by  the  servant. 
Suffice  it  to  say  the  return  mail  brought  him  a  polite 
note,  apologizing,  and  containing  a  check  for  twenty- 
five  dollars. 

In  this  way  Mr.  Anderson  preached  to  a  large  and 
influential  class  of  people  who  heretofore  had  not  the 
respect  for  the  colored  people  that  they  now  have. 

But  we  would  not  give  the  impression  that  all  the  en- 
couragement, financial  and  otherwise,  that  was  given  to 
Mr.  A.  came  from  the  whites.  True,  his  labors  were 
confined  principally  among  them,  for  his  congregation 
being  small  and  poor,  and  his  undertaking  great  and 
arduous,  to  succeed  he  reasoned  rightly  that  he  should 
go  among  those  who  were  in  a  condition  to  subscribe 
largely  to  his  work,  and  thus  enable  him  to  complete  the 
whole  in  a  few  years.  But  to  do  this  his  own  people 
were  necessarily  largely  neglected.  Nevertheless  many 
of  them  contributed  according  to  their  means  to  the 
enterprise.  One  poor  girl  put  in  a  window  to  the 
memory  of  one  of  the  members  of  the  church;  a  num- 
ber gave  from  $i  to  $10.  The  First  African  Chifrch  put 
in  a  window  to  the  memory  of  the  founder  of  that 
church,  Rev.  Stephen  Gloucester;  the  Witherspoon 


1 08  PRESS  YTERIA  NISM. 

Presbyterian  Church,  (colored)  of  Princeton,  N.  J.,  put 
in  a  window  to  the  memory  of  Mrs.  Flora  Striker,  an 
old  member  of  that  church;  the  Berean  Presbyterian 
Church  put  in  a  window  in  behalf  of  the  Sabbath  School. 

The  pastor  Rev.  Mr.  Anderson  put  in  a  window  to 
the  memory  of  his  father  and  mother.  Mr.  Wm.  Still 
gave  upwards  of  $200,  and  many  others  did  much  to 
encourage  the  work. 

It  is  designed  to  make  the  Berean  Presbyterian 
Church,  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  a  church  for  the 
people.  Already  a  Building  Association  has  been  es- 
tablished, having  over  a  hundred  members  in  good 
standing.  The  association  receives  from  $400  to  $500 
every  month.  The  object  of  the  association  is  to  secure 
homes  for  our  people.  Six  houses  have  already  been 
purchased  on  which  $9,000  has  been  loaned  out  this 
year." 

Note. — The  association  now  has  (1897)  over  three  hun- 
dred members  in  connection  with  it.  And  the  average 
monthly  receipts  are  over  twelve  hundred  dollars,  while 
the  assets  are  over  sixty  thousand  dollars,  this,  to- 
gether with  upwards  of  fifty  homes  secured. 
The  officers  are,  President,  William  Still ;  Treasurer,  John 
McGill,  Secretary,  Wm.  W.  Still;  Solicitor,  George  S. 
Graham. 

"It  is  designed  to  establish  a  penny  savings  bank  at  a 
very  early  date;  also  a  Dispensary  and  Reading  Room. 
The  church  is  free  to  all,  and  all  are  most  cordially 
invited." 

CHARTER  OF  THE  BEREAN  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH 
OF  PHILADELPHIA. 

Be  it  known  that  the  subscribers  with  their  associates 
having  formed  a  congregation  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia 
for  the  purpose  of  worshipping  God  according  to  the 
faith,  doctrine,  discipline  and  usages  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  in  the  United  States  of  America,  and  being 
desirous  of  becoming  incorporated  agreeably  to  the 


7719  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  109 

provisions  of  the  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  entitled  "An  Act  to 
provide  for  the  Incorporation  and  Regulation  of  certain 
Corporations,"  approved  the  2gth  day  of  April,  Anno 
Domini,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-four, 
and  its  suppliments,  do  hereby  declare,  set  forth  and 
certify  that  the  following  are  the  purposes,  objects,  arti- 
cles and  conditions  of  their  said  association,  for  and 
upon  which  they  desire  to  be  incorporated. 

1.  The  name  of  the  corporation  shall  be  The  Berean 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Philadelphia. 

2.  The   said   corporation  is   formed   for  the  purpose 
of  the  worship  of  Almighty  God,  according  to  the  faith, 
doctrines,  discipline    and    usages    of    the   Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America. 

3.  The  location  of  the   said  corporation    and    place 
wherein  its  business  is  to  be  transacted  is  the  City  of 
Philadelphia. 

4.  The  corporation  is  to  have  perpetual  existence. 

5.  The  corporation  has  no  capital   stock,   and  there 
are  no  subscribers  to  shares  of  stock  in  this  corporation. 

6.  The  oversight  and  management  of  the  said  corpora- 
tion shall  be  vested  in  a  board  of  twelve  Trustees,  all  of 
whom    shall    be   laymen.     The   said   Trustees   shall   be 
chosen  annually  by  the  lay  members  of  the  Corporation, 
at  the  time  and  in  the  manner  to  be  provided  by  the 
By-laws,  the  names   and   residences   of  those  who  are 
chosen  Trustees  for  the  first  year  are  as  follows,  viz.: 
John  McGill,  Woodside,  West  Philadelphia;  Samuel  J. 
Diton,  No.  1305  Wood  street;  William  M.  Cramp,  No. 
2008  Green  street;  James  Porter,  No.  2218  Turner  street; 
George    S.    Graham,     1517     North     I5th    street;     Dr. 
Reuel  Stewart,  No.  1840  Green  street;  Wesley  Taylor, 
No.  1728  Green  street;  Richard  Thomas,  No.  663  North 
1 2th  street;  William  S.  Reyburn,  S.  E.  corner  of  iQth 
and  Spring  Garden  streets;  J.  Renwick  Hogg,  No.  929 
North   Broad   street;   George   Jayne,    No.     717    West 


1 1  o  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

street;  and  Dennis  McKinney,  No.  651  Hedding  street; 
all  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

7.  The  said  Corporation  shall  have  perpetual  suc- 
cession by  its  corporative  name  and  shall  have  power 
to  maintain  and  defend  judicial  proceedings;  to  make 
and  use  a  common  seal  and  alter  the  same  at  pleasure; 
to  hold,  purchase  and  transfer  real  and  personal  prop- 
erty as  the  purposes  of  the  Corporation  require,  not  ex- 
ceeding the  amount  limited  by  law;  to  make  a  Consti- 
tution and  By-laws  not  inconsistent  with  law  and  the  same 
to  alter,  add  to  and  amend  in  such  manner  as  the  said 
Constitution  and  By-laws  may  prescribe,  provided  that 
such  Constitution  and  By-laws  shall  not  be  repugnant 
to  nor  inconsistent  with  this  charter,  the  form  of  gov- 
ernment of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States 
of  America,  or  the  Constitution  and  Laws  of  the  United 
States  or  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania;  to 
enter  into  any  obligation  necessary  to  the  transaction 
of  its  ordinary  affairs,  and  generally  to  enjoy  such  pow- 
ers and  privileges  as  are  incident  to  corporations  of  this 
character  under  the  laws  of  this  Commonwealth,  pro- 
vided that  all  property,  real  and  personal,  of  the  said  Cor- 
poration, now  held  by  it  or  hereafter  acquired  in  any 
manner  shall  be  taken,  held  by,  enure  to  and  be  subject 
to  the  control  and  disposition  of  the  lay  members  of 
said  Corporation,  citizens  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  provided  that  in  no  case  shall  the  Real  Estate  be- 
longing to  the  said  Corporation  be  mortgaged  or  en- 
cumbered for  the  payment  of  the  current  expenses  of 
the  church.  John  McGill,  Wesley  Taylor,  James  Por- 
ter, Geo.  S.  Graham,  Reuel  Stewart,  Samuel  J.  Diton, 
Richard  Thomas,  Wm.  M.  Cramp,  Wm.  S.  Reyburn,  J. 
Renwick  Hogg,  George  F.  Jayne,  Dennis  McKinney. 

DECREE. 

Philadelphia  County,  S.  S. 

And  now,  the  22d  day  of  June,  A.  D.  1890,  the  forego- 
ing certificate  of  incorporation  having  been  duly  acknowl- 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  in 

edged  before  the  Recorder  of  Deeds  for  the  county  of 
Philadelphia,  and  the  same  being  duly  certified  under 
his  hand  and  seal,  and  having  been  presented  to  me, 
a  law  judge  of  the  said  county,  accompanied  with 
proof  of  publication,  I  certify  that  I  have  examined  the 
said  instrument  and  found  it  in  proper  form  and  within 
the  purposes  named  in  the  first  class  of  the  Act  of  As- 
sembly of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  approved 
the  twenty-ninth  of  April,  A.  D.  1874,  entitled  "An  Act 
to  provide  for  the  Incorporation  and  Regulation  of  cer- 
tain Corporations,"  and  its  supplements  and  the  same 
appears  lawful  and  not  injurious  to  the  community;  it 
is  therefore  ordered  and  decreed  that  the  said  Charter 
be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  approved ;  and  that  the  Char- 
ter and  this  order  be  recorded  in  the  office  for  Recording 
Deeds,  &c.,  in  and  for  the  city  and  county  aforesaid  and 
that  upon  such  record  of  the  Charter  and  this  order,  the 
subscribers  thereto  and  their  associates  and  successors 
shall  be  a  corporation  for  the  purpose  and  upon  the 
terms  therein  stated,  and  by  the  name  therein  given. 

Respectfully, 
State  of  Pennsylvania,  City  of  Philadelphia,  ss: 

On  the  Eighth  day  of  May  A.  D.  1890,  before  me, 
the  Recorder  of  Deeds  of  the  city  and  county  of  Phila- 
delphia, personally  appeared,  Samuel  J.  Diton,  James 
Porter,  and  Richard  Thomas 

Three  of  the  above  named  subscribers  to  the  fore- 
going Certificate  of  Incorporation,  who  in  due  form  of 
law  acknowledge  the  same  to  be  their  act  and  deed  and 
desired  the  same  might  be  recorded  as  such. 

Witness  my  hand  and  seal  of  office  the  day  and  year 
aforesaid.  Recorder  of  Deeds. 

Recorded  in  the  office  for  Recording  of  Deeds,  &c., 
in  and  for  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  in  charter  book,  No. 
1 6,  page  154,  &c. 

Witness  my  hand  and  seal  of  office  this  I3th  day  of 
June,  A.  D.  1890.  Recorder  of  Deeds. 


1 1 2  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

CONSTITUTION   AND  BY-LAWS. 

PREAMBLE. 

We  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Be- 
rean  Presbyterian  Church,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  believing 
that  systematic  method  is  essential  to  efficiency  in  main- 
taining the  temporal  government  of  the  church,  do  here- 
by agree  in  all  of  our  transactions  to  be  governed  by 
the  following  standing  rules. 

ARTICLE  I. — DUTIES. 

Section  I.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  every  member  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees  to  attend  all  meetings  of  the 
Board  regularly  and  punctually,  and  do  all  that  he  can 
to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  Berean  Presbyterian 
Church. 

ARTICLE  II. — MEETINGS. 

Section  i.  The  Board  of  Trustees  shall  hold  quarterly 
meetings  on  the  third  Thursday  evenings  in  December, 
March,  June,  and  September. 

Sec.  2.  Special  meetings  of  the  Trustees  may  be  held 
at  any  time  upon  the  call  of  the  President,  provided, 
notice  has  been  given  from  the  pulpit  or  by  postal  card. 

Sec.  3.  All  stated  or  special  meetings  of  the  Trustees 
shall  be  held  in  the  lecture  room  of  the  church  at  8 
o'clock  p.  m.  Special  meetings  may  be  held  at  the  close 
of  morning  or  evening  services  on  the  Sabbath. 

ARTICLE  III. — OFFICERS. 

Section  i.  The  officers  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  shall 
be  a  President,  Vice  President,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

Sec.  2.  The  minister  of  the  church,  by  virtue  of  his 
office,  shall  be  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

Sec.  3.  The  President  shall  preside  at  all  stated  or 
special  meetings  of  the  Board;  he  shall  call  special  meet- 
ings of  the  Board  upon  the  request  of  three  members, 
and  also  shall  have  power  at  any  time  whenever  he  may 
deem  such  meetings  necessary  for  the  interest  of  the 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  113 

church  to  call  the  same  upon  his  own  motion.  He  shall 
appoint  all  standing  or  special  Committees,  and  shall  be 
ex-officio  member  of  such  committees.  He  shall  sign 
all  orders  on  the  Treasurer,  when  such  orders  are  author- 
ized by  the  Board  of  Trustees  and  properly  made  out 
and  attested  by  the  Secretary. 

Sec.  4.  The  Secretary  shall  keep  a  correct  record  of 
the  proceedings  of  all  meetings.  He  shall  keep  all  the 
accounts  between  the  members  of  the  congrgation  and 
the  Board  of  Trustees.  He  shall  receive  all  monies  col- 
lected from  the  pew-rents,  collections,  except  sessional 
collections,  and  all  other  services,  and  pay  them  over 
to  the  Treasurer  and  take  his  receipt  for  the  same.  He 
shall  keep  an  accurate  register  of  all  pew-holders.  He 
shall  draw  all  orders  on  the  Treasurer.  He  shall  report 
quarterly  to  the  Trustees  when  authorized  by  the  Trus- 
tees, an  itemized  account  of  the  receipts  and  expendi- 
tures for  the  quarter,  and  his  books  shall  be  opened  to 
the  inspection  of  any  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 
He  shall  notify  the  members  of  the  Board  of  all  the  meet- 
ings by  postal  card,  when  directed  to  do  so  by  the  Presi- 
dent. 

Sec.  5.  The  Treasurer  shall  receive  from  the  secre- 
tary all  monies  collected  by  him  from  time  to  time,  and 
receipt  for  the  same.  He  shall  keep  an  accurate  ac- 
count of  all  monies  received  by  him.  He  shall  not  pay 
any  money  out  of  the  funds  in  his  possession  except  upon 
the  regular  order  of  the  Trustees,  properly  made  out 
and  signed  by  the  President  and  Secretary.  He  shall 
report  quarterly  to  the  Trustees  the  condition  of  the 
treasury  for  the  quarter  and  his  books  shall  be  open 
to  any  of  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

ARTICLE  IV. — COMPOSITION  OF  THE  BOARD. 

Section  i.     The  Board  of  Trustees  according  to  Art. 
VI  of  the  charter  shall  consist  of  twelve,  six  of  whom 
may  be  chosen  outside  of  the  regular  congregation  from 
8 


1 1 4  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

friends  especially  interested  in  the  success  of  the  Berean 
Presbyterian  Church  and  who  have  given  of  their  time 
and  means  to  the  building  of  the  church. 

Sec.  2.  Six  are  to  be  chosen  from  members  of  the 
congregation. 

Sec.  3.  To  be  eligible  for  the  office  of  Trustees,  one 
must  be  a  regular  contributor  to  the  church,  and  con- 
form to  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  same. 

Sec.  4th.  The  Trustees  shall  be  chosen  in  three 
classes,  four  in  each  class,  according  to  the  rotary  plan. 

Sec.  5.  The  following  persons  have  been  elected  and 
shall  be  Trustees:  John  McGill,  Esq.,  Hon.  Geo.  S. 
Graham,  James  Porter  and  Samuel  J.  Diton,  for  three 
years  from  February  24th,  1890.  Dr.  Reuel  Stewart, 
Wm.  M.  Cramp,  Wesley  Taylor  and  Richard  Thomas 
for  two  years  from  February  24th,  1890.  Hon.  Wm. 
S.  Reyburn,  J.  Renwick  Hogg,  Geo.  F.  Jayne  and  Den- 
nis McKinney  for  one  year  from  February  24th,  1890, 
and  each  class  shall  hold  office  until  their  successors 
are  duly  elected. 

ARTICLE  V. — THE  FISCAL  YEAR. 

Section  I.  The  fiscal  year  of  the  congregation  shall 
begin  with  the  ist  day  of  January. 

ARTICLE  VI. — ANNUAL  MEETING. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  congregation  shall  be  on 
the  third  Thursday  in  February  of  each  year. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

The  quarterly  meeting  of  the  Trustees  shall  be  on 'the 
third  Thursday  evenings  of  March,  June,  September  and 
December  of  each  year. 

ARTICLE  VIII. — ELECTION  OF  TRUSTEES. 

Trustees  of  the  Berean  Presbyterian  Church  shall 
be  elected  at  the  regular  annual  meeting  of  the 
congregation,  or  at  an  adjourned,  or  special  meet- 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  115 

ing  called  for  that  purpose,  and  notice  for  said  meeting 
shall  be  given  from  the  pulpit  for  two  Sabbaths  pre- 
ceding. 

ARTICLE  IX. — COMMITTEES. 

Section  i.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees, held  after  the  election,  the  President  shall  appoint 
the  following  standing  committees  to  serve  for  one  year: 

First.  Committee  on  Repairs,  (three  members)  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  to  make  all  necessary  repairs  to  the 
church  and  parsonage,  when  the  congregation  shall  have 
bought  one,  and  they  shall  report  quarterly  to  the  Board 
what  work  they  have  done,  with  vouchers  of  the  same 
provided,  that  in  all  cases  they  shall  not  exceed  the  sum 
of  ten  dollars  without  special  authority  from  the  Board 
at  a  stated  or  special  meetings. 

Second.  Committee  on  Pews,  (three  members,  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  to  attend  to  the  renting  of  the  pews  and 
sittings,  as  soon  as  a  system  of  pew  renting  shall  have 
been  adopted,  and,  they  shall  hold  regular  meetings  upon 
the  first  and  third  Monday  evenings  in  January,  April, 
July  and  October;  and,  they  shall  keep  an  accurate  reg- 
ister of  all  pews  and  sittings  in  a  book  to  be  provided 
for  that  purpose,  and  shall  report  quarterly  to  the  Board 
of  Trustees. 

Third.  Financial  Committee,  (three  members)  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  to  audit  the  accounts  of  the  Secretary 
and  Treasurer  at  the  end  of  each  quarter  and  report 
at  the  quarterly  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

Fourth.  Sabbath  Collection  Committee,  (three  or 
more  members.) 

Sec.  2.  The  three  first  named  shall  serve  six 
months,  the  duty  of  the  first  and  last  shall  be  to  take  up 
the  collections  upon  each  of  the  Sabbath  services  and 
pay  the  same  over  to  the  Secretary. 

Sec.  3.  Special  Committees  may  be  appointed  from 
time  to  time  as  the  necessity  may  arise  requiring  such 
and  they  shall  present  their  reports  within  at  least 


1 1 6  PRESS  YTERIA  NISM. 

the  second  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  following 
the  completion  of  their  work,  or,  sooner  if  required  by 
the  Board. 

ARTICLE  X. — THE  CHURCH  COUNCIL. 

Section  i.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Trustees  to  co- 
operate with  the  Board  of  Deacons  and  members  of  the 
session,  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  Berean  Presby- 
terian Church,  which  assembly  or  combination  shall  form 
the  church  council. 

Sec.  2.  The  Trustees  shall  defer  final  action  upon 
all  matters  affecting  the  general  welfare  of  the  church 
until  they  have  been  considered  by  the  church  Council. 

Sec.  3.  When  the  church  Council,  after  mature  delib- 
ation  comes  to  a  harmonious  conclusion  in  regard  to 
any  matter  affecting  the  general  welfare  of  the  church, 
that  conclusion  shall  be  accepted  by  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees, unless  strong  reasons  shall  exist  for  not  accepting 
the  same  when  the  matter  with  reasons  noted  shall  be 
referred  back  to  the  church  Council. 

Sec.  4.  The  current  expense  of  the  church  including 
the  minister's  salary,  shall  be  determined  by  the  church 
Council. 

ARTICLE  XI.— PEWS  AND  SITTINGS. 

Section  i.  Any  person  failing  to  meet  their  pew  rent 
for  six  months,  when  the  pew  renting  system  shall  have 
been  adopted,  and  the  Board  of  Trustees  have  satisfied 
themselves  of  the  same,  shall  be  declared  delinquent  and 
the  pew  shall  be  declared  vacant  and  placed  upon  the 
list  of  pews  to  rent. 

ARTICLE  XII. — ORDER  OF  BUSINESS. 

Section  i.     This  order  of  business  shall  be  adhered  to 
at  each  stated  meeting: 
ist.     Prayer, 

2nd.     Reading  of  minutes, 
3rd.     Report  of  officers, 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  117 

4th.     Report  of  committees, 

5th.     Reading  of  bills, 

6th.     Reading  of  communications, 

7th.     Unfinished  business, 

8th.     New  business, 

9th.     Miscellaneous  matter, 

loth.     Adjournment. 

ARTICLE  XIII. 

Section  i.  Five  members  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
shall  constitute  a  quorum. 

ARTICLE  XIV. 

Section  i.  These  rules  may  be  amended  at  any  reg- 
ular meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trusteees  by  a  majority 
of  two-thirds  of  the  members  of  the  Board;  provided, 
that  notice  of  said  amendment  shall  have  been  given  at 
a  previous  stated  meeting,  and  sent  to  every  member 
of  the  Board. 

THE   SESSION   OF  THE  BEREAN  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH. 

RER.  MATTHEW  ANDERSON,  MODERATOR. 

JAMES  PORTER,  HENRY  JONES,  ELDERS. 

SAMUEL  E.  WOODING,  CLERK. 

The  Elders  are  elected  for  a  term  of  three  years  ac- 
cording to  the  rotary  system. 

The  term  of  office  for  the  respective  members  of  the 
session  is  as  follows:  Elder,  James  Porter,  three  years, 
from  January  ist,  1897;  Elder  Henry  Jones,  two  years, 
from  January  ist,  1897,  and  Elder  Samuel  E.  Wooding, 
one  year,  from  January  ist,  1897. 

The  regular  meeting  of  the  session  is  held  on  the  third 
Sabbath  afternoon,  in  each  month,  in  the  study  of  the 
church,  at  four  o'clock. 

SERVICES. 

Sabbath — 10:30  a.  m.,  preaching;  2:30  p.  m.,  Sabbath 
School;  7  p.  m.,  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.;  8  p.  m.,  preaching. 


1 1 8  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

Weekly — Wednesday  evening  8  o'clock,  lecture;  Fri- 
day evening  8  o'clock,  prayer  meeting.  Subject,  the 
International  Sabbath  School  lesson  for  the  following 
Sabbath.  The  week  of  prayer  is  always  observed,  and 
the  season  of  our  Lord's  travail  is  observed  as  a  special 
time  for  prayer  and  meditation. 


FREEDMEN  REPORTS. 

That  the  friends  may  see  the  state  of  feeling  on  the 
part  of  the  Presbyterians  of  Philadelphia,  (which  we 
feel  was  expressive  also  of  the  Presbyterians  generally,) 
in  regard  to  missionary  work  among  the  colored  people, 
we  append  extracts  from  reports  of  the  Committee  on 
Freedmen,  which  we,  as  chairman,  presented  to  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Philadelphia  Central  for  the  years  1889,  1890. 
The  following  is  an  extract  from  report  for  the  year 
ending  March  3ist,  1889: 

"While  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that  there  has  been  no 
falling  off  in  the  contributions  of  the  churches  the  past 
year  when  compared  with  the  preceding,  yet  the  increase 
is  so  small  that  it  is  very  evident  that  the  Presbytery 
of  Philadelphia  Central  is  not  as  a  whole  as  keenly  alive 
to  the  pressing  demands  of  the  Freedman's  Board  or 
to  the  pathetic  appeals  of  the  millions  at  the  South  for 
help  as  it  ought  to  be.  That  this  is  so  it  is  only  necesary 
to  compare  the  contributions  of  the  churches  to  the 
Freedmen's  Board  the  past  year  with  those  of  the  pre- 
ceding and  further  to  compare  the  amounts  contributed 
during  these  periods  with  what  was  contributed  during 
the  same  time  by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia. 

The  whole  amount  of  money  contributed  by  our  Pres- 
bytery last  year  to  the  Board  of  Missions  for  the  Freed- 
men according  to  the  Assembly's  Minutes  (wihch,  by  the 
way,  gives  more  to  the  credit  of  the  Presbytery  than  the 
report  of  the  Freedmen's  Board)  was  $2,277.00,  while 
the  year  before  it  was  $2,254.00,  which  shows  an  increase 
last  year  over  the  preceding  of  only  $23.00.  Now,  if  the 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  119 

amount  annually  contributed  by  the  Presbytery  for  the 
Southern  Work  had  been  large,  then  there  might  be  some 
excuse  for  the  small  increase,  but  when  we  find  that  the 
contributions  to  missions  among  the  Freedmen  for  the 
last  five  years  amounted  to  only  $11,023  (the  largest 
amount  any  one  year  during  this  time,  being  $2,344.00 
year  ending  March  3ist,  1895)  it  is  very  evident 
that  there  has  not  been  manifested  on  the  part  of  the 
great  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Central  that  interest 
in  the  pressing  wants  of  the  Freedmen's  Board,  and 
the  great  work  of  uplifting  the  millions  in  the  South 
that  it  was  their  privilege  and  duty  to  have  shown. 

This  may  be  more  clearly  seen  by  a  comparison  be- 
tween contributions  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia 
Central  and  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  during  the 
same  period.  The  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Central 
contributed  to  the  Board  of  Missions  for  Freedmen  last 
year,  according  to  the  Assembly's  minutes  $2,277.00, 
while  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  during  the  same 
period  contributed  $4,974.00,  or  $2,697.00  more  than  the 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Central.  The  year  before 
there  was  contributed  by  the  Central  Presbytery  $2,254.00 
to  the  Freedmen's  Board,  while  the  Presbytery  of  Phila- 
delphia contributed  to  the  same  object  in  the  same  time 
$5,223.00,  and  when  there  is  compared  the  contributions 
of  the  two  Presbyteries  for  the  last  five  years  it  is  found 
that  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  has  given  $13,459.00 
more  than  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Central,  the 
Presbytery  of  the  Philadelphia  Central  giving  in  that 
time  $11.023.00  while  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  gave 
in  the  same  time  $24,482.00.  This  is  further  seen  When 
the  churches  are  taken  pro  rata.  There  are  35  churches 
of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  against  39  in  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Philadelphia  Central.  According  to  the  As- 
sembly's report,  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Central 
contributed  this  last  year  $58.35  per  church,  while  in  the 
same  time  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  contributed 


120  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

$142. 1 1  per  church,  or  $83.76  more  per  church  than  the 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Central. 

Now  what  does  all  this  show?  It  shows  that  we  are 
not  awake  as  a  Presbytery  to  our  duty  in  regard  to  the 
Freedmen  in  the  South.  8,000,000  of  people  who  are 
removed  but  twenty-five  years  from  slavery  and,  who 
when  emancipated  were  absolutely  naked  in  more  senses 
than  one,  being  not  merely  devoid  of  the  necessaries  of 
life,  food  and  raiment,  but  those  higher  and  nobler  quali- 
ties which  go  to  make  up  the  true  man  and  citizen  de- 
mand the  assistance  of  the  State,  but  more  particularly 
the  church,  and  no  church,  especially  in  this  land  can 
conscientiously  exempt  itself  from  giving  of  its 
means  to  assist  in  the  great  work  of  carrying  on  mis- 
sions and  schools  among  them.  The  work  of  the  up- 
lifting of  these  millions  of  brethren,  from  the  degrada- 
tion into  which  they  have  fallen  as  the  result  of  slavery 
is  given  to  the  church,  and  this  is  not  of  man's  direc- 
tion, but  the  Providence  of  God,  for  nothing  is  plainer 
than  the  hand  of  God  is  in  the  uplifting  of  the 
Freedmen.  For  no  other  people,  who,  for  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years,  had  been  under  a  worse  than  a 
Egyptian  bondage,  having  been  bought  and  sold,  brutal- 
ized and  tortured  as  no  other  people  ever  were,  a  people 
who  were  thought  by  many  to  be  only  a  little  higher  than 
the  brute,  and  who  had  therefore  no  capacity  for  an 
education,  could  have  shown  such  a  thirst  for  knowledge 
and  such  an  aptitude  for  books,  if  God  were  not  with 
them.  Churches  and  schools  and  even  colleges  have 
sprung  up  as  if  by  magic,  so  that  the  questions  which 
were  otten  asked  and  discussed  in  our  pulpits,  whether 
the  Negro  had  any  capacity  to  learn,  whether  he  could 
master  the  rudiments  of  an  English  education,  and  fi- 
nally whether  he  could  be  taught  the  classics  are  among 
the  mooted  questions  of  the  past.  No  one  now  ques- 
tions the  capacity  of  the  Negro  to  learn.  That  he  has 
a  mind  capable  of  receiving,  assimilating  and  expanding 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  121 

infinitely,  as  other  men,  is  the  honest  verdict  of  all  who 
have  given  the  subject  any  serious  attention. 

The  highly  religious  nature  of  the  Negro  has  always 
been  admitted.  Indeed,  so  genrally  has  it  been  ac- 
cepted, that  it  was  employed  by  his  enemies,  to  his  de- 
gradation. His  long  and  cruel  servitude,  his  submission 
to  cruel  wrongs  have  been  principally  due  to  his  being 
taught  that  slavery  was  divine,  that  to  strike  for  free- 
dom, would  be  to  incur  the  anger  of  God,  that  he  had 
been  cursed  to  be  a  servant  of  servants  unto  his  brethren, 
that  the  blessing  of  God  should  dwell  upon  Shem,  but 
Canaan  should  be  his  servant;  God  should  enlarge 
Japheth  and  he  should  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem,  but 
Canaan  should  be  his  servant,  thus  holding  up  the 
curses  of  one  who  awaked  from  a  drunken  debauch  as 
having  divine  sanction  in  order  not  merely  to  justify 
slavery,  but  also  to  make  the  slave  submissive  to  his 
bonds;  as  if  the  curse  of  Canaan  had  anything  to  do 
with  the  Negro  or  that  Negroes  were  the  descendants 
of  the  Canaanites.  How  the  Negro  could  remain  loyal 
to  God  and  to  the  Scriptures  as  taught  in  the  Bible  with 
such  religious  teachers  as  these  as  his  guide  is  one  of 
the  marvels  of  our  time. 

May  it  not  be  that  God  in  his  Allwise  Providence  has 
a  higher  and  nobler  mission  for  this  despised  race  than 
has  yet  been  generally  conceded?  May  it  not  be  that 
from  the  unfathomed  mines  beneath  the  black  bosom  of 
the  Negro  are  yet  to  be  drawn  the  highest  conception 
of  the  religion  of  Christ  and  that  by  him  is  to  be  kept 
pure  and  simple  that  faith  and  that  life  vouchsafed  to 
the  people  of  God? 

May  it  not  be  that  the  Negro  who  is  represented  as 
the  descendant  of  Canaan  instead  of  being  the  servant 
of  servants  to  Shem  and  Japheth,  is  yet  to  be  their  re- 
ligious teacher  as  well  as  the  consecrated  instrument 
predestined  by  God  to  meet,  refute  and  destroy  the  skep- 
tic, materialistic,  and  the  atheistic  arguments  which  are 


122  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

assailing  the  church  of  God  to-day,  and  are  making  un- 
steady the  foundation  and  hope  of  many?  It  is  only 
by  conceiving  that  the  Negro  is  destined  for  some  such 
high  purpose  as  this,  that  his  unswerving .  faith  in  God 
and  in  his  Word  can  reasonably  be  accounted  for.  With 
these  two  elements  in  his  favor,  aptness  to  learn  and  faith 
in  God,  if  properly  guided,  there  may  be  hoped  for  the 
Negro  the  greatest  possibilities. 

Now  the  work  of  bringing  about  these  possibilities, 
God  has  given  to  His  church.  To  the  Christian  men 
and  women  is  given  the  work  of  educating  and  Chris- 
tianizing, and  the  lifting  up  to  a  high  and  noble  man- 
hood the  Negro  of  the  South.  Therefore  no  one  can 
say  "Pray  have  me  excused,"  for  being  commissioned 
by  God  for  this  specific  work,  it  is  not  for  you  or  for 
me  to  say  how  long  we  will  work,  nor  to  what  extent 
it  shall  be  carried  on,  but  to  follow  faithfully  the  guid- 
ing hand  of  Providence  in  the  carrying  on  of  the  work 
there.  And  here  let  me  say  the  Presbyterian  Church 
has  a  special  work  to  perform  among  the  Freedmen  of 
the  South  and  I  might  say  also  in  the  North.  No 
church  is  so  well  calculated  to  correct  the  faults  of  the 
Negro,  and  to  broaden  and  strengthen  his  manhood 
as  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  no  church  should  do 
more  towards  his  elevation  than  this  church. 

In  the  first  place  the  Presbyterian  Church  appeals 
to  his  understanding  as  well  as  to  his  feelings.  It  makes 
him  think  and  prevents  him  from  being  carried  away 
by  his  feelings,  which  is  one  of  his  natural  tendencies 
as  well  as  dangers. 

Secondly  the  doctrine  of  the  perseverance  of  the  saints, 
as  taught  by  the  Presbyterian  Church  is  what  the  Negro 
needs  to  correct  his  tendencies  to  regard  religion  simply 
as  an  influence,  instead  of  a  life,  which  was  exemplified 
by  Christ  and  which  is  to  be  lived  as  well  as  to  be  taught 
by  his  disciples. 

Thirdly,  the  government  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 


ITS  RELATION  TO   THE  NEGRO.  123 

is  what  the  Negro  needs  to  teach  him  self-government 
and  respect  for  authority  and  to  correct  his  tendency  to 
rule,  one  of  the  main  errors  which  he  imbibed  from  his 
schooling  under  a  slave  system  which  can  only  be  cor- 
rected by  the  clear  and  forcible  teaching  of  Christ. 

Fourthly,  the  great  Presbyterian  Church,  with  all  of 
its  paraphernalia,  its  wonderful  history,  its  martyred 
dead,  its  mines  of  scholarly  lore, — the  accumulation  of 
ages — its  adherents  to  right  and  truth  as  taught  in  the 
Word  of  God  and  its  fidelity  to  the  cardinal  truths  of 
the  Gospel,  is  what  the  Negro  needs  to  guide  him,  to 
correct  him,  to  steady  him,  to  hold  him  from  flying  off 
into  error,  and  to  give  him  that  dignity  and  strength  of 
character  as  well  as  the  proper  incentives  for  his  emula- 
tion, that  he  may  be  developed  in  all  of  the  nobler  quali- 
ties of  his  being  and  thus  be  fitted  to  occupy  that  sphere 
in  the  world's  history  which  God  and  nature  have  de- 
creed that  he  shall. 

But  it  is  said  that  it  is  not  right  for  the  church  to  ex- 
pend money,  in  carrying  on  missions  among  a  people  who 
are  of  a  highly  excitable  nature,  being  principally  Meth- 
odists and  Baptists,  in  their  tendencies,  and  who  there- 
fore, do  not  sufficiently  adhere  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church  to  justify  the  outlay  of  money,  in  their  behalf. 

If  this  were  true  of  the  Negro  it  would  not  justify  the 
position,  but  it  is  not  true,  it  is  not  borne  out  in  the 
history  of  the  church;  for  it  is  not  the  position  which 
the  church  has  taken  in  her  work  of  missions  among 
other  people.  Her  missionary  enterprises  for  example  in 
India,  in  Syria,  in  China,  in  Japan  and  among  the  Isles 
of  the  Sea  were  carried  on  for  years  before  there  were  any 
very  satisfactory  evidences  that  they  would  succeed,  and 
where  they  are  succeeding,  the  success,  looking  at  it 
financially  is  not  commensurate  with  the  amount  of 
money  expended  in  carrying  them  on,  and  yet  the  church 
has  never  thought  that  it  was  a  foolish  expenditure  of 
money  in  carrying  on  these  missions. 


1 24  PRESB  YTERIA  NISM. 

But  even  if  it  were  true  that  the  Negro  does  not  take 
to  the  Presbyterian  Church,  the  Presbyterian  Church 
would  not  be  justified  in  letting  him  alone.  The  ques- 
tion for  the  church  to  ask  is  not  whether  the  Negro 
wants  the  Presbyterian  Church,  but  whether  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  wants  the  Negro,  and  whether  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  believing  its  doctrines  to  be  true 
and  its  organization  to  be  the  most  perfect  and  com- 
plete for  the  evangelization  of  the  world  will  obey  the 
injunction,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature,"  and  if  so  will  include  the 
Negro  also.  The  question  for  the  Presbyterian  Church 
to  consider  is  whether  there  are  in  it  those  correcting 
forces  which  will  make  the  Negro  a  better  man  and  citi- 
zen. 

But  it  is  not  true  that  the  Negro  does  not  take  to  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  The  fact  that  in  less  than  twent) 
years  the  Presbyterian  Church  has  organized  by  its 
Board  of  Missions  to  the  Freedmen,  six  Presbyteries  and 
a  Synod  among  the  Freedmen,  embracing  237  churches, 
116  ministers  and  17,480  communicants,  1349  having 
been  received  on  confession  of  faith,  this  last  year,  also  83 
schools  with  a  membership  of  11,175  does  not  look  as  if 
the  Freedmen  of  the  South  do  not  take  to  the  Presby- 
terian Church.  The  truth  is,  the  Negro  gives  as  hearty 
adherence  to  the  church  as  he  is  encouraged  to  give. 
Let  the  cry  go  out  that  the  church  is  not  adapted  to  a 
people,  this  of  itself  will  affect  the  action  of  the  church 
towards  that  people,  and  on  the  other  hand,  the  inter- 
est of  the  people  towards  the  church.  But  the  fact  that 
there  have  been  organized  237  churches  within  the  last 
24  years  in  the  South  alone  among  the  colored  people, 
with  a  membership  of  17,480  is  a  sufficient  argument  that 
the  churches  of  the  North  should  give  largely  of  their 
means  to  enable  the  Board  of  Missions  to  carry  on  its 
good  work  among  the  Freedmen. 

MATTHEW  ANDERSON,  Chairman  of  Committee. 
Philadelphia,   1889. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO,  125 

THE  FOLLOWING  is  AN  EXTRACT  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  1890. 

When  your  committee  reported  last  year  an  increase 
in  the  contributions  of  the  Presbytery  to  the  work 
among  the  Freedmen  of  only  $23.00  it  was  with  the  sin- 
cere hope  that  there  would  be  made  a  decided  increase 
this  year.  But  instead  of  there  being  a  decided  increase 
there  has  been  a  decided  decrease.  Instead  of  there 
being  an  increase  of  only  $23.00  there  has  been  a  de- 
crease of  over  $783.00.  Instead  of  the  Presbytery  taking 
a  more  lively  interest  in  the  pressing  demands  of  the 
Freedmen's  Board  and  the  pathetic  appeals  of  the  mil- 
lions in  the  South  for  aid,  not  necessarily  material,  but 
intellectual  and  spirtual  aid,  not  aid  in  the  securing  of 
homes  and  food  and  raiment,  but  in  the  securing  of  in- 
tellectual and  moral  instruction,  and  in  rescuing  from 
the  wreck  of  slavery,  the  defaced  and  mutilated  image 
of  the  Divine  Master,  aid  in  the  securing  of  spelling 
books  and  bibles,  teachers,  schools  and  churches  and 
thus  gradually  lift  up  to  a  nobler  man  and  womanhood — 
we  say  that  instead  of  the  Presbytery  responding  more 
heartily  to  these  pressing  demands  of  the  Freedmen's 
Board,  there  has  been  shown  less  interest  than  hitherto. 

Judging  from  the  contributions  of  the  churches  it 
would  seem  that  we  are  as  a  Presbytery  quite  oblivious 
or  deaf  to  the  wants  of  the  South. 

But  dear  friends  this  subject  is  too  vital  to  be  given 
only  a  passing  glance,  we  therefore  ask  in  all  sincerity 
why  this  apparent  apathy  on  the  part  of  the  churches, 
and  this  great  Presbytery  towards  the  work  among  the 
Freedmen? 

Is  it  that  the  churches  and  the  Presbytery  have  never 
been  properly  aroused  on  the  subject?  No  not  that, 
for  a  glance  at  the  minutes  of  the  past  will  show  that 
the  churches  once  contributed  grandly  towards  this 
work,  and  that  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Central 
was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  interested  in  mission 
work  among  the  Freedmen. 


1 26  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

Is  it  that  the  work  is  thought  to  be  a  failure?  No 
not  that,  for  nothing  could  be  more  absurd  than  to  de- 
clare a  work  a  failure  which  is  attended  with  such  ex- 
cellent results,  and  which  every  branch  of  the  Christian 
Church  South  as  well  as  North,  is  vying  with  each  other 
to  carry  on.  Mission  work  among  the  Freedmen  a 
failure,  a  people  who  yesterday  were  absolutely  naked, 
physically  and  intellectually,  to-day  the  owners  of  ($263,- 
000,000)  two  hundred  and  sixty-three  millions  in  cash. 
Yesterday  ignorant  of  the  alphabet  and  the  most  rudi- 
mentary fragments  of  knowledge,  to-day  having  a  mil- 
lion and  a  half  of  their  children  attending  the  public 
schools,  and  sixteen  thousand  teachers  of  their  own 
race  laboring  in  the  South  alone?  , 

Moreover  having  established  among  them  more  than 
fifty  colleges  and  universities  from  which  are  graduated 
annually  over  fifteen  hundred  young  men  and  women 
in  the  various  departments  of  study,  and  who  are  filling 
the  different  professions  as  creditably  and  as  well  as  the 
same  class  of  graduates  of  any  other  race,  besides  many 
colored  youths  are  being  educated  in  the  best  colleges 
and  universities  in  this  and  other  lands,  of  whom  their 
teachers  tell  us  that  they  do  their  work  as  thoroughly 
and  as  well,  and  that  their  moral  and  intellectual  stand- 
ard is  as  high  as  their  more  favored  companions. 

Is  it  that  because  of  the  rapid  increase  of  education 
in  the  South  among  the  Freedmen  that  it  is  felt  that 
there  is  not  the  demand  for  assistance  on  the  part  of  the 
North  as  formerly?  No,  not  that,  for  notwithstanding 
the  common  school  is  being  rapidly  multiplied  in  the 
South,  and  that  sixteen  thousand  trained  men  and  women 
of  the  race  are  being  employed  as  teachers  among  them ; 
notwithstanding  that  a  million  and  a  half  of  colored 
youth  are  now  in  regular  attendance  at  the  common 
schools,  and  that  nearly  one-half  of  the  entire  colored 
population  of  over  eight  millions  can  read  and  write, 
notwithstanding  that  representatives  of  the  Freedmen 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  127 

are  occupying  positions  as  presidents  and  professors  in 
Classical  Institutions  where  the  highest  culture  is  being 
taught,  that  members  of  the  legal  profession  have  been 
admitted  to  the  highest  bar  of  the  nation,  and  that  there 
are  physicians  who  have  won  a  national  reputation,  and 
ministers  among  the  most  eloquent  in  the  land  yet  it 
is  an  obvious  fact  that  illiteracy  is  increasing  among 
the  Freedmen  of  the  South,  and  this  not  because  the 
people  do  not  take  to  education  or  avail  themselves  of 
the  opportunities  provided  for  their  improvement,  not 
that  those  who  attend  school,  afterward  retrograde  and 
become  more  illiterate,  as  is  claimed  by  some  of  our 
wise  theorists,  but  it  is  because  the  demand  is  greater 
than  the  supply. 

If  all  the  children  of  the  Freedmen  of  school  age  were 
to-day  provided  with  adequate  school  facilities  next  year 
255,500  children  would  be  knocking  at  the  door  for  the 
first  time  for  admission  to  be  taught  their  letters.  This 
growing  army  of  illiterates  is  a  menace  to  the  home, 
a  menace  to  the  church,  a  menace  to  the  free  institutions 
which  are  the  pride  and  boast  of  our  land. 

What  then  is  the  cause  of  the  apathy  on  the  part  of  the 
churches  and  the  Great  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Cen- 
tral towards  the  work  of  our  church  among  the  Freed- 
men in  the  South?  Is  it  that  the  work  of  our  church 
among  the  Freedmen  is  a  failure?  No  not  that,  what! 
a  work  a  failure  which  25  years  ago  had  not  a  single 
church  organization  among  the  Freedmen  while  now 
there  are  245  Presbyterian  Churches,  785  schools,  117 
colored  Presbyterian  preachers  and  133  colored  teach- 
ers? 

The  Presbyterian  Church  among  the  Freedmen  a  fail- 
ure when  there  have  been  added  to  the  colored  churches 
under  the  Board  since  1870,  22,253  on  profession,  4,268 
by  certificate,  making  a  total  of  26,521?  While  during 
the  25  years  just  ended  not  less  than  32,165  Freedmen 
have  enrolled  themselves  under  the  Presbyterian  banner 


1 28  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

and  who  are  as  true  and  as  loyal  to  the  standards  of  the 
grand  old  church  as  any  who  came  from  Ulster  or  the 
land  of  Knox? 

It  is  said  that  the  Presbyterian  Church  among  the 
Freedmen  or  colored  people  never  presents  a  healthy 
growth  or  developes  into  a  strong  and  independent 
organization,  being  thoroughly  equipped  to  do  aggres- 
sive work  for  the  Master,  as  is  the  case  with  the  Metho- 
dist and  Baptist  Churches  among  them.  It  is  a  foolish 
expenditure  of  money  say  they,  to  attempt  to  make  of 
them  Presbyterians,  because  the  Negro  is  not  indigen- 
ous to  Presbyterian  soil,  that  he  has  to  be  transplanted 
and  before  he  becomes  acclimatized  notwithstanding 
every  care  was  taken  to  preserve  his  life,  he  sickens, 
decays  and  dies,  while  in  the  native  soil  he  grows  spon- 
taneously into  churches  and  not  only  lives  but  thrives 
with  little  or  no  effort.  But  in  regard  to  this  it  depends 
wholly  on  what  is  taken  as  the  standard  of  success,  if 
numbers  instead  of  worth,  or  quantity  instead  of  quality 
then  we  think  at  present  at  least  it  would  be  proper 
to  conclude  that  the  Negro  does  not  take  to  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  But  my  friends  we  must  go  deeper 
than  this  to  find  the  cause  of  this  apathy  on  the  part 
of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Central  towards  the 
work  among  the  Freedmen. 

The  cause  is  deeper  and  more  vital  than  these  seem- 
ing objections  which  we  have  mentioned.  The  cause 
we  fear  is  due  wholly  to  a  wrong  course  of  reasoning 
concerning  mission  work  among  the  colored  people  and 
from  which  the  Presbyterian  Church  has  not  been  en- 
tirely exempt. 

It  has  been  the  policy  of  most  Mission  Boards  in  their 
work  among  Negroes  whether  in  this  country  or  abroad 
to  proceed  on  the  principle  of  the  superior  to  the  infer- 
ior, the  eminently  high  to  the  almost  hopelessly  low, 
to  a  people  who  were  naturally  inferior  and  who  could 
never  be  brought  to  the  same  high  position  of  thought 


THE  I,ATK  PHINEAS   M.   BARBER, 

OF  PHILADELPHIA, 

Who  bequeathed  his  large  estate  to  the  Trustees  of  the  General 
Assembly  to  constitute  a  fund,  the  interest  of  which  should 
be  used  "  for  the  erection  of  churches  and  the  maintaining 
of  needy  ministers  of  the  Presbyterian  congregations  of 
colored  people  in  the  United  States." 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  129 

and  respectability  enjoyed  by  their  teachers.  This 
policy  has  greatly  influenced  the  actions  of  these  Boards 
and  it  has  done  much  to  retard  their  labors  of  love,  and 
it  is  one  chief  cause  why  those  churches,  which  are  not 
influenced  by  this  policy  are  numerically,  certainly,  more 
successful  than  those  under  the  Boards  in  question.  And 
it  is  the  chief  cause  of  the  disquietude  and  want  of  con- 
fidence on  the  part  of  these  respective  Boards  which 
have  been  from  time  to  time  exhibited  in  their  work 
among  the  the  Freedmen  or  wherever  they  are  engaged 
in  work  among  the  Negroes  whether  in  this  coun- 
try or  abroad ;  and  it  also  is  the  cause  of  the  want  of  con- 
fidence which  is  often  felt  on  the  part  of  the  people- 
themselves  towards  these  Boards. 

Let  the  standard  be  low  which  a  teacher  sets  for  his 
pupils,  and  he  will  prove  himself  a  prodigy,  should  he 
advance  beyond  that  standard;  let  the  standard  be  low 
which  the  Missionary  Boards  set  for  the  Negro  or  the 
mould  in  which  they  would  shape  him  be  cramped  and 
narrow,  and  unnatural,  and  unless  there  is  in  him  more 
than  ordinary  force  of  character  they  will  make  of  him 
a  poor  weak,  sick,  shadowy  creature  having  no  force 
or  vitality  upon  which  to  stand. 

There  has  been  too  much  pity  and  too  little  love  ex- 
hibited for  the  Negro  by  the  great  Boards  of  the 
Church;  too  much  done  to  make  him  feel  his  degrada- 
tion, the  great  distance  between  him  and  his  teachers, 
and  too  little  to  make  him  feel  that  he  is  a  man  and  a 
brother,  that  their  destiny  is  one,  and  that  his  Saviour 
and  their  Saviour  is  no  respecter  of  persons. 

Some  of  the  Boards  have  discovered  their  error,  and 
are  rectifying  their  mistake  and  as  a  result  the  disquie- 
tude and  unrest,  the  want  of  confidence  which  has  been 
so  greatly  perplexing  their  work  is  rapidly  giving  way 
to  confidence  and  right  Christian  feeling,  and  their  work 
among  Freedmen  which  for  the  time  being  was  at  a 
stand  still  and  in  doubt  of  succeeding  is  now  moving 
9 


1 30  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

grandly  forward  and  as  a  result  both  in  the  Boards  and 
upon  the  field  a  healthy  condition  is  exhibited  through- 
out. Notably  among  these  Boards  is  the  American 
Missionary  Association,  and  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and 
Southern  Educational  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church. 

These  organizations  see  the  wisdom  and  the  justice 
of  according  to  the  Negro  the  same  rights  which  they 
accord  to  themselves  and  as  a  result  their  work  is  mov- 
ing grandly  forward  and  bespeaks  for  them  a  great  and 
glorious  harvest.  The  magnificent  colleges  and  uni- 
versities such  as  Fisk,  Atlanta  arid  Clark,  the  Tennessee 
Central,  the  Claflin  and  a  score  of  others  of  almost  equal 
celebrity  which  these  organizations  are  carrying  on 
among  the  Freedmen,  the  professors  of  which  are  not  be- 
ing confined  merely  to  the  dominant  race,  but  of  white 
men  and  black  men,  and  of  white  women  and  black 
women  of  distinguished  piety  and  education  are  as 
beams  of  golden  sunlight  in  a  dark  land,  and  they  are 
doing  more  to  strengthen  the  manhood  of  the  Negro 
and  to  solve  that  perplexing  and  much  mooted  prob- 
lem "The  Negro  Question,"  than  all  the  blatant  speeches 
and  theories  concerning  the  Negro  combined.  May  it 
not  be  that  it  is  here  where  the  Presbyterian  Church 
needs  to  learn  wisdom?  That  she  is  doing  a  grand 
and  noble  work  among  the  Freedmen  of  the  South  no 
one  can  deny. 

The  sacrifices  which  our  good  people  have  been  mak- 
ing for  the  last  25  years  to  Christianize  and  evangelize 
the  Freedmen  have  been  most  praiseworthy,  but  if  the 
grand  old  church  would  but  stoop  a  little  lower  and 
suffer  the  warmth  from  her  to  thaw  out,  and  impart  new 
vigor  to  her  brother  in  black.  If  he  would  but  scrutinize 
him  more  closely,  and  find  that  beneath  his 
black  skin  he  has  a  big,  noble,  loving  heart, 
that  within  his  black  breast  he  has  feelings  as 
tender  and  as  sensitive  as  any  other  man,  that 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  131 

beneath  his  woolly  head  he  has  a  brain  which 
can  be  kindled  and  made  to  burn  as  brightly  and  as 
continuously  as  the  brain  of  the  most  favored;  in  a  word 
that  he  is  a  man  though  through  extrinsic  forces  alone 
he  has  been  pressed  down  to  a  lower  plane  than  some, 
that  he  has  all  the  natural  qualities  and  God  given  pow- 
ers of  other  men,  we  say,  should  the  grand  old  Pres- 
byterian Church  only  imbibe  more  of  the  spirit  of  the 
Master  and  stoop  a  little  lower  and  see  the  Negro  as  he 
is,  in  order  to  lift  him  to  a  higher  and  more  independ- 
ent plane,  she  too  would  change  her  theory  of  laboring 
in  his  behalf,  and  there  would  be  seen  in  her  colleges 
and  universities  established  for  the  education  of  the 
Negro,  both  white  and  black  professors,  laboring  side 
by  side  as  one  for  his  upbuilding,  and  then  instead  of 
having  245  churches  among  the  Freedmen  we  would 
have  a  thousand;  then  instead  of  having  26,531  com- 
municants we  would  have  a  hundred  thousand,  and 
then  the  grand  old  church  would  move  majestically 
forward,  and  would  soon  occupy  the  position  to  which 
she  rightly  belongs,  the  most  successful  and  invincible 
division  of  the  Army  of  the  Lord." 
Most  respectfully  submitted, 

MATTHEW  ANDERSON,   Chairman  of  Committee. 

The  following  clipping  on  the  report  is  from  the  Pres- 
byterian Banner  of  October  2Qth,  1890: 

"Last  week  at  an  adjourned  meeting  of  Central  Pres- 
bytery the  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Freedmen  elic- 
ited more  than  usual  interest.  The  Chairman  of  that 
committee  is  Rev.  Matthew  Anderson,  pastor  of  the 
Berean  Church,  an  enterprise  among  the  colored  people 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  city  that  is  doing  a  great 
work  for  the  Redeemer.  We  feel  that  God  has  called 
Mr.  Anderson  to  do  a  great  work,  and  that  he  is  wisely 
and  ably  doing  it,  of  which  we  may  again  speak." 


PART  SECOND. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 
REV.  MATTHEW  ANDERSON. 


REV.    MATTHEW   ANDERSON. 


CHAPTER  X. 
GUIDED  BY  AN  OVER-RULING  PROVIDENCE. 

We  wish  in  the  beginning  to  say  that  we  sincerely 
hope  that  no  one  on  reading  the  foregoing  pages  will 
be  led  to  infer  from  anything  that  has  been  written  that 
we  wish  to  take  to  ourselves  the  credit  of  whatever 
measure  of  success  the  work  has  attained;  on  the 
contrary  we  believe  in  regard  to  the  work  of  the  Berean 
Church  that  over  it,  and  behind  it,  and  in  it  is  God  and 
to  him  only  is  due  the  credit  of  its  success  and  that 
we  have  been  used  simply  as  the  humble  instrument  in 
carrying  out  his  purposes  and  plans. 

Indeed  we  can  see  now  as  we  have  never  seen  before 
that  we  have  been  guided  by  an  over  ruling  Providence, 
not  only  in  our  work  here,  but  in  all  of  our  preparation 
for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  this  special  work  in  par- 
ticular from  the  time  we  left  home  as  a  student  until  we 
arrived  in  Philadelphia  and  took  charge  here.  Every 
step  we  made  meandering  through  our  journey  has  been 
through  the  different  schools,  writing  an  Outline  History 
for  the  American  Missionary  Association  of  their 
Mendian  work,  soliciting  and  lecturing  in  behalf  of  the 
same  association  in  the  West,  supplying  one  of  the  old- 
est Congregational  Churches  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  at 
the  same  time  taking  a  post  graduate  course  at  Yale,  all 
of  this  experience  was  a  special  preparation  though  un- 
known to  ourselves  for  the  work  of  Berean  Church. 

DESIRE  FOR  AN  EDUCATION. 

We  can  recall  as  of  yesterday  the  craving  desire  we 
had,  as  a  youth  on  the  farm,  for  an  education.  There 
was  no  privation  which  we  were  not  willing  to  undergo, 
no  exertions  we  would  not  gladly  make  could  we  only 

i35 


1 36  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

be  given  the  opportunity  to  obtain  an  education;  and 
this  craving  thirst,  this  longing  desire  arose,  not  from 
a  selfisii  ambition,  the  mere  satisfaction  of  being  edu- 
cated, but  that  we  might  be  prepared  to  accomplish 
the  very  most  possible  for  God  and  humanity,  espec- 
ially in  lifting  the  standard  of  the  race  with  which  we 
were  identified,  and  which  for  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  had  been  and  was  still  being,  so  greatly  wronged. 
We  had  no  thought  of  the  ministry  then,  nor,  of  any 
of  the  learned  professions.  The  thought  that  was  upper 
most  in  our  minds,  the  thought  which  burned  within 
our  very  soul,  was,  that  we  might  be  permitted  under 
God  to  do  a  work  that  would  establish  the  equal  man- 
hood of  the  Negro,  and  stamp  to  the  earth  the  thought 
of  his  inferiority,  as  well  as  the  slangs  and  imputations 
which  were  being  hurled  at  him  by  an  unreasonable  and 
thoughtless  nation,  whose  boasted  land,  the  land  of 
liberty,  was  theirs  as  a  legacy  from  the  Pilgrim  fathers. 
This  was  the  primordial  cause,  the  chief  motive  of  our 
desiring  an  education.  It  was  this  cause  that  induced 
us,  in  our  eighteenth  year,  to  leave  home  almost  penni- 
less for  Iberia  College,  Ohio,  being  denied  admission 
to  the  institutions  of  learning  in  our  native  State  of 
Pennsylvania,  where  our  grand  sires  had  lived  in  colon- 
ial days,  and  their  descendants  to  the  fifth  generation. 
And  where  for  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
our  family,  both  on  our  father's  and  mother's  side  have 
been  staunch  Presbyterians. 

It  was  this  desire  to  be  equipped  to  do  yeomanry  ser- 
vice for  God  and  hunmanity  that  made  us  then  a  mere 
youth  to  be  forgetful  of  ourselves,  and  utterly  oblivious 
to  the  fingers  of  ridicule  and  scorn  pointed  at  us  because 
of  our  race,  color  or  condition  or  possibly  because  of 
our  verdant  looks,  as  we  were  fresh  from  the  green  fields 
and  s'hady  dells  of  old  Franklin  county,  in  the  Cumber- 
land Valley. 


ITS  DELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  137 

THE  WRITER  ENTERS  IBERIA  COLLEGE,  OHIO. 

We  can  see  ourselves  now  as  we  looked  then;  a  tall, 
angular,  gawky  youth,  shouldering  our  trunk  at  the 
Iberia  Station,  which  was  a  mile  from  the  college  and 
bearing  it  aloft  to  the  college  door  with  as  much  con- 
scious independence  as  if  it  had  been  a  trophy  won,  or 
garland  of  victory  gained  in  some  manly  contest.  The 
three  years  which  we  spent  in  this  Institution  were  most 
eventful,  they  were  the  basal  years  of  our  life,  in  that 
they  gave  to  it  shape,  character,  and  directness  by  which 
we  have  been  enabled  to  withstand  all  the  vicissitudes 
and  changes  through  which  we  have  passd. 

The  atmosphere  of  Iberia  was  just  the  kind  we  needed, 
free,  independent,  critical,  inviting,  and  healthful  to  the 
honest  seeker  after  knowledge  and  truth,  whether  he 
were  white  or  black,  while  it  was  death  to  the  scoundrel 
and  knave  whatever  his  color  or  creed.  Then  too,  the 
sentiment  of  the  place  was  strongly  opposed  to  slavery, 
and  the  slave  traffic,  which  was  natural  since  the  Institu- 
tion was  a  split  from  the  college  of  New  Athens,  Ohio, 
on  the  subject  of  slavery  and  that  one  of  its  founders, 
James  Gordon,  had  suffered  an  imprisonment  in  jail 
in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  for  a  year  for  countenancing  the 
flogging  of  a  Southern  slave  hunter  on  the  streets  of 
Iberia.  With  a  man  of  such  pronounced  views,  as  the 
Rev.  James  Gordon,  at  its  head,  it  is  not  strange  that 
the  Institution  would  be  strongly  anti-slavery,  and  that 
the  same  sentiment  would  pervade  the  entire  com- 
munity. It  was  in  an  Institution  like  this,  and  among 
such  friends  and  sympathizers  we  began  our  education 
and  received  that  fixedness  of  principle  and  character 
which  have  guided  us  all  through  life  up  to  the  present. 

CHARACTER  OF  THE  COLLEGE. 

The  internal  life  of  the  Institution  was  just  what  was 
needed  to  be  the  most  helpful  to  us  in  this  stage  of  our 
advancement.  The  students  were  all  plain  country 


1 38  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

boys,  with  but  two  or  three  exceptions  whose  fathers, 
for  the  most  part,  were  plain,  honest  farmers.  The  only 
exception  being,  three  colored  gentlemen,  brothers  from 
the  South,  whose  white  fathers  had  settled  them  in  Ohio 
and  sent  them  to  Iberia  to  be  educated.  These  gentle- 
men were  the  dudes  of  the  place,  in  dress,  manners,  and 
influence.  None  of  the  students  appeared  so  elegant 
or  so  Chesterfieldian  or  courtly  in  their  manners  or  were 
as  popular  as  they. 

Dressed  in  faultless  broad  cloth,  with  canes  and  beav- 
ers, or  riding  out  into  the  country  on  their  blooded 
steeds,  they  were  the  heroes  of  the  place,  and  were  gen- 
erally admired  and  courted  by  their  fellow  students. 
We  too,  did  not  disdain  to  earn  a  few  dollars  a  month 
to  assist  in  our  schooling  by  taking  care  of  the  horse 
of  one  of  these  gentlemen.  With  this  exception  we 
were  all  plain  country  boys  and  girls  who  had  been 
carefully  brought  up  at  hard  work  in  the  country  and 
who  had  but  little  money,  but  who  were  filled  with  a 
determined  purpose  to  secure  an  education  that  would 
fit  us  for  future  usefulness.  The  professors  too,  were 
plain,  earnest  men,  but  men  of  pristine  character,  and 
who  were  a  living  protest  against  that  vicious  public 
sentiment  which  is  guided  in  its  treatment  of  men  by 
the  accidents  of  birth  or  their  racial  eccentricities,  and 
not  by  the  life  and  character  of  a  man  or  men. 

The  Faculty  and  students  of  Iberia  College  formed  a 
little  community  among  themselves,  they  had  in  fact 
a  community  of  interests  among  themselves  which  was 
most  beautiful.  The  students  did  not,  it  is  true,  sell 
their  few  possessions  and  lay  the  price  down  at  the  pro- 
fessors' feet,  but  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  a 
student  clad  in  a  professors'  frock  coat,  delivering  his 
oration,  or  a  professor  making  his  way  to  the  train  to 
meet  an  engagement  wrapped  in  a  student's  overcoat. 
The  first  time  we  had  seen  how  elegant  our  spank  new 
brown  overcoat  looked  was  when  on  a  professors'  back, 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  139 

who  had  borrowed  it  to  wear  to  one  of  the  neighboring 
towns  where  he  'had  an  engagement  to  preach.  Both 
the  professors  and  students  were  poor.  But  few  of  the 
latter  were  able  to  board,  most  of  them  boarded  them- 
selves, doing  their  own  cooking.  The  three  years 
that  we  were  there  we  ate  but  one  meal  in  a  boarding 
house  and  this  one  was  on  the  evening  of  our  arrival 
at  the  institution.  And  yet  in  all  of  our  student  life  we 
were  never  better  contented  nor  happier  than  we  were 
there.  There  were  no  spacious  college  buildings,  well 
appointed  recitation  rooms,  artistically  laid  out  land 
smoothly  shorn  campus  at  Iberia.  The  students  for  the 
most  part  lived  in  very  plainly  furnished  rooms,  most 
of  them  without  carpet  or  any  ornaments  and  yet  plain 
as  their  surroundings  and  fare  were,  they  accomplished 
more  solid  work  in  one  term  than  the  students  in  many 
another  Institution  with  higher  sounding  names  do  in 
two.  And  the  reason  was  there  was  nothing  in  or  about 
Iberia  to  divert  the  mind  from  study. 

Play  houses,  whiskey  saloons,  questionable  resorts  of 
any  kind,  were  not  allowed  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
college,  and  the  students  belonging  to  a  class  of  young 
people  who  had  never  become  contaminated  with  these 
things  they  had  nothing  to  do  but  study,  and  study  they 
did. 

PRANKS  OF  THE  STUDENTS. 

But  we  would  not  give  the  impression  that  the  stu- 
dents at  Iberia  were  angels,  neither  were  they  saints  in 
the  commonly  accepted  sense  of  the  term,  but  like  most 
students  they  were  up  to  all  the  pranks  common  to 
college  life.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing,  for  example, 
on  coming  to  our  room  to  find  the  table  standing  upon 
the  bed  all  nicely  arranged,  spread  with  cloth,  dishes, 
knives  and  forks,  but  with  no  signs  of  food  except  salt, 
and  with  a  very  polite  note  that  supper  or  dinner,  as  the 
case  might  be,  was  ready,  and  to  sit  up  and  help  our- 


I4o  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

selves.  At  other  times  on  coming  to  our  room  we  would 
find,  especially  when  we  would  spring  into  bed,  that  the 
rope  or  slats  were  gone,  and  we  would  be  obliged  to 
spend  the  night  in  an  incumbent  position,  our 
head  and  heels  at  an  angle  of  45  degrees. 
But  we  would  feel  ourselves  fortunate  to  have  a  bed 
for  not  unfrequently  the  miscreant  would  carry  off  bed 
and  bedding,  not  leaving  even  the  slats;  or  on  getting 
into  our  beds  to  find  that  the  contents  of  our  water  pails 
had  been  emptied  into  them  during  our  absence. 

One  of  the  meanest  pranks  that  we  can  recall  was 
played  upon  one  who  was  a  candidate  for  the  ministry. 
The  boys  thought  he  was  too  good,  and  that  he  needed 
an  airing.  It  was  in  the  dead  of  winter  and  the  night 
was  very  cold  and  dark.  So  they  stole  his  bed  and 
clothing  and  carried  them  up  into  the  belfry  where  they 
remained  for  several  weeks  before  being  discovered. 
But  still  a  worse  prank  had  been  played  upon  a  farmer. 
The  farmer  had  gotten  as  far  as  Iberia  with  a  load  of 
wheat  on  his  way  to  the  granary  and  stopped  for  the 
night.  The  boys  concluded  that  it  would  be  a  practical 
joke  to  place  the  wagon  astride  the  comb  of  the  college 
roof,  no  sooner  suggested  than  it  was  decided  to  carry  it 
out.  At  a  given  hour  in  the  night  a  score  of  stalwart 
youths  went  to  work  with  a  will,  and  by  the  first  streaks 
of  early  morn  their  work  was  completed  to  perfection. 
All  the  bags  of  wheat  were  placed  on  the  wagon  as  be- 
fore, even  to  the  propping  up  of  the  tongue.  AU 
stood  high  and  dry  on  the  roof  of  the  college.  Suffice 
it  to  say  the  farmer  did  not  leave  that  morning. 

Another  prank  which  the  boys  were  very  much  given 
to  was  foraging,  which  took  place  always  in  the  night. 
The  kind  and  quantity  of  booty  which  they  would  bring 
home  from  these  raids,  beggars  description;  milk,  but- 
ter, eggs,  chickens,  ducks,  geese,  and  turkeys,  together 
with  smoked  bacon,  were  included  among  the  loot. 
The  most  tempting  prize,  however,  was  poultry,  for  they 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  141 

were  sure  of  having  a  feast  long  to  be  remembered,  if 
they  could  only  succeed  in  capturing  a  few  slick,  fat 
country  hens  or  turkeys,  the  very  thought  of  which 
filled  them  with  delightful  anticipations.  There  were 
a  few  exceptions,  however,  among  the  students,  who 
could  not  be  induced  under  any  circumstances  to  go 
on  one  of  these  foraging  expeditions,  because  it  was 
wrong.  One  of  these  was  a  student  by  the  name  of 
Allen.  Allen  was  one  of  the  oldest  students  in  the  In- 
stitution, he  was  a  capital  fellow,  affable,  generous,  live- 
ly, but  very  religious,  being  an  earnest  Baptist  and  by 
profession  a  cook.  He  thought  it  was  very  wrong  to 
go  out  and  steal  chickens,  and  many  earnest  lectures 
would  the  boys  get  from  him  about  their  wickedness. 
But  the  strangest  thing  about  it  all  was  while  Allen 
would  not  go  with  the  boys  he  had  no  misgiving  what- 
ever about  cooking  the  fowls  when  they  were  brought 
in.  Many  a  night  could  the  boys  be  seen  in  his  room 
feasting  sumptuously  on  chicken,  turkey  or  duck  which 
had  been  cooked  in  the  most  appetizing  way  as  only 
Allen  could,  and  he  eating  as  heartily  as  any.  This 
student  is  now  the  Rev.  John  Allen,  D.  D.,  pastor  of 
the  First  Colored  Baptist  Church  of  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land, where  he  has  been  for  twenty-five  years  and  has 
done  a  most  excellent  work  for  Christ  and  humanity. 
There  was  one  other  student  who  was  very  conscien- 
tious along  this  line  and  his  name  was  Matthew  An- 
derson. 

AMBITIOUS  TO  LEAD  THE  CLASS. 

Never  in  all  our  life  did  we  work  harder  as  a  student 
than  we  did  at  Iberia.  Sensitive  of  the  charge  of  the 
inferiority  of  the  Negro  we  felt  that  this  was  our  oppor- 
tunity to  brand  as  a  lie  this  slur  by  establishing  his  intel- 
lectual quality,  at  least  in  this  Institution.  Conse- 
quently we  exerted  ourselves  to  the  extreme  tension, 
studying  many  a  night  until  daylight.  Our  standing 


1 42  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

was  necessarily  high,  above  the  average,  but  we  were 
ambitious  to  stand  higher  than  any  student  in  the  col- 
lege. The  professors  took  an  interest  in  the  contest  and 
urged  us  forward,  especially  Prof.  Helfrich,  who  en- 
couraged all  ambitious  students  to  take  advanced  strides 
especially  in  mathematics  which  was  his  chair.  Before 
the  end  of  the  first  year  all  in  a  class  of  over  a  score 
had  dropped  back  but  one  besides  the  writer.  Try  as 
we  would,  we  could  not  get  ahead  of  this  one,  for  two 
years  we  met  together  regularly  and  recited  but  in  all 
that  time  we  were  not  able  to  stand  equal  with,  much 
less  surpass  our  contestant.  In  time  we  completed  the 
course,  but  before  parting  we  had,  the  mortification  of 
acknowledging  that  here  was  one  white  person  who 
could  surpass  a  Negro,  at  least  in  mathematics,  and 
that  one  was  a  woman.  We  therefore  chivalrously  ad- 
mitted our  defeat  and  bowing  low  before  her,  we  handed 
"Miss  Hoss"  an  unfurled  banner  on  which  was  in- 
scribed "Excelsior." 


CHAPTER  XI. 
ENTERED  OBERLIN   COLLEGE. 

The  three  years  spent  at  school  in  Iberia  only  excited 
in  us  a  greater  craving  for  knowledge.  Our  ambition 
now  was  to  take  a  course  in  some  good  first  class  col- 
lege, and  we  went  so  far  as  to  write  to  Harvard,  but 
when  we  considered  the  cost  and  our  poverty,  we 
abandoned  the  thought  and  resolved  to  take  a  course  at 
Oberlin  College. 

While  Oberlin  was  not  supposed  to  rank  with  Yale, 
Harvard  or  Princeton,  we  had  a  greater  veneration  for 
it  than  we  had  for  these  Institutions  or  for  any  one  of 
the  Eastern  Colleges  because  of  the  stand  it  had  taken 
in  regard  to  the  Negro,  being  the  first  College  to  throw 
open  its  doors  for  him  to  enter. 

FIRST  IMPRESSION   OF  OBERLIN. 

We  will  never  forget  our  impression  on  entering 
Oberlin.  We  had  heard  so  much  about  the  place,  the 
causes  which  Jed  to  the  founding  of  the  College,  the 
preaching  of  Charles  G.  Finney,  the  deep  tone  of  piety 
which  pervaded  the  atmosphere,  the  crowds  of  students, 
etc.,  that  we  had  come  to  regard  Oberlin  as  the  one 
spot  which  could  be  truly  called  holy  ground.  And  if 
we  had  seen  on  our  first  view  of  the  town,  a  halo  of 
glory  hanging  over  the  place  as  described  in  the  writings 
of  the  old  monks,  as  having  encircled  the  brow  of  our 
Lord  and  His  Apostles,  we  would  not  have  been  sur- 
prised. Everything  about  the  place  was  to  us  most 
interesting,  the  town,  the  people,  the  students,  the 
churches,  everything  in  fact  wore  an  enchanted  look. 
Never  had  we  seen  such  crowds  of  students,  or  heard 
such  eloquent  and  logical  sermons,  nor  had  we  seen 


144  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

such  multitudes  attend  church.  We  were  bewildered, 
surprised,  lost  in  wonderment;  in  fact,  lost  in  the  great 
multitude,  in  contrast  with  what  had  been  our  exper- 
ience at  Iberia.  There  we  were  known,  respected,  ad- 
mired, lionized.  Here  we  were  unknown,  unnoticed, 
and  unflattered.  There  we  ranked  as  a  scholar, 
here  there  were  many  in  our  class  who  were 
superior  to  us  in  point  of  scholarship.  We  could 
not  have  gone  to  a  school  which  was  better  calcu- 
lated to  knock  all  conceit  out  of  us,  and  at  the  same 
time  keep  us  from  becoming  discouraged  than  Oberlin. 
The  religious  tone  of  the  College  which  impressed  every 
student  diverted  our  thoughts  from  ourselves  to  others, 
and  hence  it  gave  us  a  wider  and  a  more  charitable  view 
of  men  and  things,  and  more  character  and  directness 
of  purpose  to  our  efforts  and  aims. 

We  would  remark  here,  that  while  every  one  must 
admit  that  the  small  College  is  a  great  blessing  to  this 
country,  yet  the  student  is  in  danger  of  being  inflated 
with  conceit,  especially  if  he  ranks  in  his  class.  And 
the  reason  is  the  number  of  students  being  small  his 
range  of  intellectual  vision  is  correspondingly 
small,  because  the  number  of  students  with  which  he 
necessarily  compares  himself  is  small  and  limited. 
Consequently  when  he  enters  the  world  it  is  with  false 
views  of  himself  and  of  his  ability,  and  as  a  result  he  is 
very  often  a  failure,  whereas  he  might  have  been  a  suc- 
cess. This  is  the  case  of  many  who  stood  above  the 
average  in  these  Colleges.  Therefore,  if  there  is  one 
thing  more  than  another  for  which  we  are  grateful  in 
having  been  led  to  Oberlin,  it  is,  that  it  saved  us  from 
undue  conceit;  and  yet  we  would  have  been  a  failure 
at  Oberlin  had  we  not  gone  first  to  Iberia. 

OUR  EXPERIENCE  AT  OBERLIN. 

Our  experiences  at  Oberlin  while  interesting,  were 
in  many  respects  most  trying.  In  the  first  place  it  cost 


MR.  TIMOTHY   ANDERSON, 

The  Father  of  the  Rev.  Matthew  Anderson,  departed  this  life, 
January,  1878,  in  his  84th  year. 


773-  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  145 

a  great  deal  more  to  attend  school  there  than  at  Iberia, 
while  our  resources  were  not  proportionately  increased. 
We  were  therefore  compelled,  as  at  Iberia,  to  depend 
principally  upon  manual  labor  for  support.  Two  hours 
a  day  for  five  days,  and  one  whole  day  each  week  were 
given  to  manual  labor.  The  work  we  did  was  most 
varied,  viz.:  On  the  farm,  in  the  dairy,  on  the  public 
highway,  in  the  wood-shed,  together  with  coaching 
students  for  examinations. 

We  can  see  ourselves  now  as  we  were  often  seen  then, 
making  our  way,  to  some  wood  pile,  either  on  the  col- 
lege campus  or  along  the  streets  clad  in  all  the  habili- 
ments of  a  country  hoosier,  overall,  stoga  boots,  slouch 
hat,  wood-buck  and  saw,  and  walking  with  as  much  com- 
posure and  independence  as  any  student  in  Oberlin. 
The  fact  is  we  were  utterly  oblivious  to  our  appearance 
or  the  criticisms  on  the  part  of  any  of  the  students  in 
regard  to  our  circumstances,  on  the  other  hand  we  look- 
ed with  contempt  upon  those  students,  who  were  too 
proud  to  work  but  would  rather  beg  their  way.  There 
were  at  Oberlin  a  class  of  young  gentlemen  whose  fond 
mothers  helped  to  sustain  them  by  the  wash  tub,  who  liv- 
ed extravagantly,  disdained  work,  and  ridiculed  all 
students  who  worked,  but  who  did  not  think  it  belit- 
tling to  supply  the  deficiency  of  their  purses  by  beg- 
ging. While  it  was  not  always  convenient  to  work, 
there  was  in  it  that  which  gave  to  us  at  least  a  sense  of 
independence  which  we  loved  to  feel. 

But  the  amount  of  work  which  was  required  in  order 
to  meet  our  expenses  became  too  great,  and  finally  in- 
interfered  seriously  with  our  studies.  We  could  not 
make  the  progress  that  we  otherwise  might  have  if  we 
could  have  devoted  to  study  our  entire  time.  And  be- 
sides we  were  gradually  growing  in  debt,  notwithstand- 
ing the  time  which  we  gave  to  our  personal  support. 
Being  of  an  exceedingly  sensitive  and  nervous  tempera- 
ment these  two  things,  viz.,  falling  in  our  grade,  and 

10 


146  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

growing  in  debt  greatly  troubled  us.  We  can  feel  as  we 
felt  then  the  aching  brow,  the  heavy  'heart,  the  galling 
disappointment,  the  anxious  fear  lest  we  should  be  ex- 
posed and  disgraced  in  the  eyes  of  the  students,  es- 
pecially in  the  eyes  of  the  Faculty,  because  of  our  con- 
dition. Thus  we  plodded  through  the  Preparatory  De- 
partment and  entered  the  College  with  the  class  of  1872. 

LECTURING  TOUR. 

We  took  the  first  term  of  the  Freshman  year  with 
this  class,  at  the  end  of  which,  it  being  vacation,  we  re- 
solved to  try  to  increase  our  depleted  purse  by  lecturing. 
Other  students  had  lectured  and  they  gave  glowing  ac- 
counts of  their  success,  why  not  we?  we  reasoned.  But 
it  had  not  occurred  to  us  that  we  were  wholly  without 
experience  not  only  in  lecturing  but  of  the  world  gen- 
erally, that  we  had  never  been  away  from  home  until 
we  left  for  school,  and  therefore  knew  nothing  of  the 
world  except  as  we  found  it  in  the  class  room.  But 
never  daunted  we  wrote  a  sophomoric  oration  on  the 
"The  Ills  of  The  Day  and  their  Panaceas."  Sold  our 
old  books,  and  the  scant  furniture  of  our  room,  settled 
up  a  few  small  outstanding  bills,  and  armed  with  our 
oration,  with  three  dollars  in  our  pocket  and  gripsack  and 
umbrella  in  hand  we  set  out  on  our  first  lecturing  tour. 
Wishing  to  travel  as  economical  as  possible  we  walked 
to  Wellington,  some  five  miles  from  Oberlin,  where  we 
purchased  a  ticket  for  Delaware,  Ohio. 

It  was  at  this  place  we  looked  forward  to  make  our 
debut  as  an  orator.  Though  the  Delawarians  had  not 
been  apprised  that  they  were  to  be  honored  with  a  visit 
from  a  sophomoric  orator  from  Oberlin,  we  had  no 
doubt  but  that  there  would  be  given  us  a  large  and  sym- 
pathizing audience  immediately  on  our  arrival,  and  that 
our  exchequer  would  be  increased  by  fifty  "or  a  hundred 
dollars  as  a  result.  We  arrived  in  Delaware  on  Satur- 
day morning,  having  stopped  over  Friday  at  Carding- 


ITS  RELA  TION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  147 

ton,  Ohio,  with  a  former  classmate  and  friend.  We  at 
once  called  upon  several  of  the  official  brethren  of  the 
churches.  But  imagine  our  dismay  and  chagrin  while 
these  brethren  expressed  great  sympathy  for  us  and  our 
subject  they  said  the  way  was  not  clear  for  a  lecture 
in  their  churches  as  they  were  having  protracted  meet- 
ings. But  they  very  kindly  said,  after  the  meetings 
were  over  they  might  entertain  our  lecture. 

SAD  EXPERIENCES. 

Oh  miserere!  What  were  we  to  do!  we  had  spent  the 
greater  part  of  our  three  dollars  to  get  to  Delaware,  and 
we  had  not  eaten  anything  since  early  that  Saturday 
morning  at  our  friend's  house  at  Cardington,  and  now  it 
was  Saturday  evening.  We  would  not  dare  to  go  to 
a  boarding  house  for  we  had  not  the  money.  And  we 
were  too  proud  to  let  our  condition  be  known,  not  even 
let  our  friend  know  it  who  was  a  teacher  in  the  town. 
Driven  to  desperation,  we  concluded  to  get  back  to  Ober- 
lin  as  quickly  as  possible ;  accordingly  we  purchased  a  sec- 
ond class  ticket  to  Berea,  Ohio,  which  is  16  miles  from 
Oberlin,  where  we  landed  at  half-past  eleven  o'clock  that 
Saturday  night.  We  had  now  but  fifty  cents  left. 
Finding  that  the  last  train  for  Oberlin  had  gone 
and  that  we  would  be  obliged  to  remain  in  Berea 
till  morning,  we  concluded  hastily  to  take  the  train  from 
which  we  had  just  alighted  and  go  to  Cleveland,  which 
was  distant  from  Berea  about  fifteen  miles.  We  arrived 
in  Cleveland  at  12  o'clock,  midnight,  Saturday,  with 
the  fifty  cents  still  in  our  pocket,  as  we  were  obliged  to 
elude  the  vigilance  of  the  conductor.  Here  we  were 
now,  in  the  heart  of  a  strange  city  with  only 
fifty  cents.  What  we  were  to  do  we  knew  not.  We 
thought  we  might  stay  in  the  depot  till  morning, 
but  we  were  informed  that  that  would  not  be 
allowed,  as  the  doors  would  *  be  closed  until 
morning  as  soon  as  the  last  train  had  gone  out, 


I48  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

when  all  persons,  not  employed,  would  have  to  leave 
the  depot.  What  were  we  to  do!  We  had  no  money 
to  stop  at  a  boarding  house,  and  there  were  no  persons 
who  knew  us  or  were  known  by  us  in  all  the  city.  True 
we  had  a  half  uncle,  some  where  in  the  city,  but  in  our 
bewildered  state  of  mind  we  could  neither  think  of  his 
name  nor  where  he  lived.  In  the  mean  time  we  were 
beset  by  an  army  of  cabmen  to  take  us  any  where  in 
the  city.  One  of  these  cabmen  was  especially  pressing, 
after  learning  that  we  were  strangers  to  the  city.  He 
knew  an  excellent  boarding  house.  It  was  a  fine  place, 
he  said,  and  cheap,  and  he  would  take  us  to  it  for  fifty 
cents,  though  we  told  him  we  were  broken,  he  still  in- 
sisted on  our  taking  his  cab.  There  being  no  other  al- 
ternative we  took  his  cab,  and  after  driving  us  for  twenty 
minutes  he  came  to  a  halt  in  front  of  a  large  unpreten- 
tious building  which  was  the  lodging  and  boarding 
house.  We  now  handed  him  25  cents  which  we  had 
carefully  gotten  out,  the  one-half  of  our  possession,  when 
we  received  such  an  avalanche  of  imprecations  upon  our 
head  as  we  had  never  received  before,  and  only  such  as 
an  old  cabman  is  able  to  produce. 

The  night's  lodging  cost  25  cents  which  when  paid 
the  last  cent  was  gone,  never  in  all  of  our  experience 
before  nor  since  have  we  felt  so  utterly  forsaken  and 
what  was  worse  we  were  craving  for  food,  really  starving, 
when  food  was  everywhere  in  sight,  and  we  utterly 
powerless  to  get  any,  or  rather  too  proud,  as  yet,  to  let 
our  condition  be  known.  The  next  morning  was  the 
Sabbath,  and  never  was  there  a  more  beautiful  day. 
There  was  not  a  cloud  in  the  sky,  or  the  movement  of  a 
leaf.  All  nature,  in  fact,  put  on  an  enchanted  look. 
The  landlord  came  to  inquire  whether  we  wanted  break- 
fast. Of  course  we  did,  the  very  question  was  an  ag- 
grevation.  The  scent  of  the  cooking  breakfast  gave  us 
intense  pain.  Did  we  want  breakfast?  Certainly,  we 
were  almost  dying  for  something  to  eat.  But  we  had 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  149 

nothing  to  pay  and  therefore  not  having  gotten  over 
our  false  modesty  we  were  compelled  to  answer  in  the 
negative,  when  deep  down  in  our  souls  we  meant  "yes." 
Being  a  Congregationalist  for  the  time  being  (having 
put  our  letter  in  the  Second  Congregational  Church  at 
Oberlin  while  there  a  student)  we  concluded  to  attend 
one  of  the  Congregational  Churches,  of  Cleveland,  on 
this  bright  Sabbath  forenoon. 

We  first  went  to  Grace  Church.  The  pastor  of  this 
church  was  an  Oberlin  graduate,  and  his  congregation 
was  composed  of  the  best  educated  and  most  refined 
colored  people  in  the  city  of  Cleveland.  There  was  on 
this  particular  Sabbath  a  large  audience  and  the  minister 
preached  a  most  impressive  sermon,  appropriate  to  the 
communion  which  was  administered  at  the  close.  Be- 
fore dismissing  the  audience  the  pastor  admonished  his 
flock  to  try  and  imitate  their  Blessed  Lord  and  Master 
"who  being  in  the  form  of  God  thought  it  not  robbery 
to  be  equal  with  God.  But  made  himself  of  no  reputa- 
tion and  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was 
made  in  the  likeness  of  men,  and  being  found  in  fashion 
as  a  man,  he  humbled  himself  and  became  obe- 
dient unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross. 
Wherefore  God  has  highly  exalted  him  and  given 
him  a  name  which  is  above  every  name."  The 
look  of  approval  on  the  part  of  the  audience 
showed  that  they  were  all  in  hearty  accord  with  their  pas- 
tor and  had  drank  deeply  from  his  sermon.  We  were 
pleased  with  the  atmosphere  of  the  place  and  commenced 
to  feel  that  we  had  met  with  friends.  Indeed  we  chided 
ourselves  for  being  so  faithless  as  to  think  that  all  our 
friends  had  forsaken  us  and  fled.  Why  should  we  not 
here  make  known  our  condition?  we  asked  ourselves. 
Are  we  not  all  brethren  in  the  Lord?  we  said. 

Accordingly  when  the  audience  was  dismissed  and 
while  the  official  brethren  with  the  pastor  were  standing 
about  the  altar  shaking  hands  with  different  brethren 


1 50  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

before  leaving  we  went  boldly  up  and  told  the  pastor 
that  we  were  an  Oberlin  student,  a  member  of  the  Fresh- 
man class,  that  we  had  gone  out  hoping  to  raise  money 
towards  our  schooling  by  lecturing,  but  not  getting  any 
engagements  we  were  trying  to  get  back  to  Oberlin. 
That  we  were  there  in  the  city  without  a  cent  of  money, 
and  what  was  still  worse  we  had  not  eaten  a  mouthful 
of  anything  since  Saturday  morning,  and  as  a  result 
we  were  almost  starved.  We  also  handed  him  a  letter 
of  introduction  from  President  Fairchild  of  Oberlin  Col- 
lege, who  recommended  us  very  highly.  The  brother  lis- 
tened to  our  story  and  then  read  the  letter,  after  which 
he  took  out  his  purse,  scanned  over  several  notes,  felt  for 
change,  then  turning  to  his  deacons  said,  "Brethren  this 
young  man  says  he  is  an  Oberlin  student,  and  that  he 
is  here  without  money,  and  has  eaten  nothing  since  early 
yesterday  morning.  Have  you  anything  to  give  him?" 
The  Deacons  eyed  us  most  suspiciously,  then  felt  for 
change  and  answered  in  the  negative.  "Young  man," 
said  the  pastor  gravely,  a  great  city  like  this  is  no  place 
for  you,  I  would  advise  you  to  get  out  the  city  and  into 
the  country  at  once."  There  was  not  one  to  give  us  a 
cent  or  to  offer  a  morsel  of  food,  of  these  brethren  who  a 
moment  before  seemed  so  happy,  so  Christ-like,  though 
we  were  literally  starving  for  bread.  If  we  felt  miser- 
able before  we  were  more  miserable  now,  not  that  the 
agony  of  hunger  was  more  intense  but  from  the  revela- 
tion of  the  coldness  and  unmercifulness  of  the  human 
heart  even  when  beating  in  a  Christian  breast  which  we 
had  never  suspected.  Had  we  been  told  an  hour  before 
that  such  coldness  and  want  of  feeling  were  possible  on 
the  part  of  Christian  people,  especially  as  exhibited  by 
these  brethren  immediately  after  partaking  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  we  would  have  spurned  the  assertion  as  being 
utterly  false.  But  our  eyes  had  not  only  seen,  and  ears 
heard  but  our  hearts  had  been  pierced  as  with  a  shaft 
which  had  been  hurled  by  this  act. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  151 

We  were  disposed,  however,  to  explain  it  away,  as 
is  generally  the  case,  by  their  being  colored  people. 
"These  people,"  we  said,  "were  superficial  in  their 
religious  belief.  If  it  had  been  a  white  minister  and  con- 
gregation of  equal  reputation  and  rank  the  result  would 
have  been  entirely  different." 

Driven  almost  to  desperation  we  resolved  to  make 
one  more  attempt  to  get  assistance,  at  least  something 
to  eat,  for  it  was  now  one  o'clock  Sabbath  afternoon  and 
we  had  not  eaten  anything  since  early  Saturday  morn- 
ing. This  time  we  dropped  into  a  large,  wealthy,  aristo- 
cratic White  Church  on  Euclid  avenue,  which  proved 
to  be  the  Euclid  Avenue  Congregational  Church.  We 
took  a  back  seat.  These  brethren,  too,  had  been  par- 
taking of  the  Lord's  Supper  and  when  we  entered  the 
minister  was  just  giving  them  his  admonitory  address. 
We  had  never  before  been  in  such  a  large  and  elegantly 
furnished  church,  nor  seen  such  a  richly  attired  and 
aristocratic  looking  audience.  The  music,  instrumental 
and  vocal  was  grand,  everything  about  the  place,  church, 
pastor,  people,  organ,  and  singing  were  heavenly.  We 
were  enrapt  for  the  moment  in  wonderment  and  sur- 
prise. After  the  audience  was  dismissed  and  most  ol 
the  brethren  were  gone  and  only  the  minister  and  dea- 
cons remained  talking  about  the  service  in  the  front  of 
the  pulpit  as  in  the  other  church  we  made  bold  to  go 
up  to  them  and  state  our  condition  to  the  pastor.  We 
were  really  starving  and  had  to  throw  all  our  foolish  ti- 
midity aside.  We  told  this  brother  precisely  the  same 
story  we  had  told  the  other,  even  to  the  showing  the  let- 
ter of  recommendation  from  President  Fairchild.  As 
did  the  former,  so  did  this  brother.  First  he  took  out 
his  pocket  book,  looked  over  a  roll  of  bills,  then  exam- 
ined for  change,  after  which  he  related  our  condition  to 
his  deacons,  each  one  of  which  said  they  had  nothing 
to  give.  Then  turning  he  addressed  us  thus,  "Young 
man  the  city  is  no  place  for  one  who  is  without  work  and 


1 5  2  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

food.  I  would  advise  you  to  get  to  the  country,  where 
you  will  have  plenty  of  work  and  wholesome 
food."  Exhibiting  not  only  the  same  spirit  as  did  the 
colored  pastor  and  deacons  but  expressed  it  almost  in 
the  same  words. 

As  we  looked  at  the  action  of  these  brethren  we  in- 
stinctively asked  ourselves  the  question  in  the  words  of 
the  apostle  John,  "Whoso  hath  this  world's  goods,  and 
seeth  his  brother  have  need  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels 
of  compassion  from  him,  how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God  in 
him?"  But  we  thanked  God  then,  and  we  have  ever 
been  grateful  to  Him  since  for  convincing  us  that  the 
human  heart  is  the  same  whether  its  earthly  tabernacle 
is  white  or  black  or  whether  it  belongs  to  the  aristo- 
cratic or  despised  of  mankind.  These  brethren  advised 
us  to  go  to  the  country  and  to  the  country  we  went. 

WALKED  THE  RAILROAD  TIES  TO  BEREA. 
Going  to  our  lodging  place  we  took  our  grip  and  um- 
brella and  walked  the  railroad  ties  to  Berea  fifteen  miles 
distant,  reaching  there  late  on  that  Sabbath  afternoon. 
Arriving  there  we  went  to  the  principal  hotel  and 
asked  for  a  lunch  stating  that  we  were  broken  and  had 
not  tasted  food  since  early  on  Saturday.  We  were  very 
politely,  but  positively,  told  that  they  didn't  serve 
lunches  but  that  tea  would  be  ready  in  a  few  minutes 
and  we  could  be  served  then.  When  the  gong  rang  we 
were  among  the  first  at  the  table,  and  suffice  it  to  say 
the  last  to  arise  having  eaten,  we  say  it  with  bated  breath, 
as  much  as  any  six  who  sat  down  with  us.  When 
through  we  went  up  to  the  proprietor  and  reminded  him 
that  we  had  no  money.  "No  money  he  roared,  what 
right  had  you  to  eat  in  my  house?"  We  meekly  replied 
necessity  knows  no  laws  of  propriety,  and  at  once 
made  for  the  door  as  his  foot  was  making  swift  and  ex- 
citingly near  approaches  to  our  rapidly  retreating  form. 
After  this  exciting  episode  we  walked  some  distance 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  153 

along  the  track  from  the  station  to  await  the  express 
which  we  hoped  would  take  us  to  Oberlin.  While  there 
we  became  very  sick. 

When  the  express  arrived  we  awaited  our  chance,  and 
when  it  moved  off,  as  the  last  car  came  up  to  where  we 
were  standing  with  grip  and  umbrella,  we  sprang  on, 
and  seated  ourselves  as  comfortably  as  we  could  on  the 
steps.  We  had  not  proceeded  far  before  we  were  dis- 
covered, and  were  asked  why  we  were  riding  on  the 
steps,  "We  are  sick,"  we  said.  "Sick,  yes  I  see  you  are" 
he  said,  with  an  oath:  "You  are  stealing  a  ride;  you  must 
come  in  or  be  killed."  Seeing  that  the  brakesman  had 
a  heart  in  him,  notwithstanding  his  rough  exterior,  we 
owned  up  that  though  sick  we  were  beating  our  way. 
We  told  him  that  we  were  an  Oberlin  student  and  had 
been  stranded  on  a  lecturing  tour,  and  we  wanted  to  get 
back  to  Oberlin.  "You  must  come  in,  then;  for  if  the 
conductor  sees  you  he  will  put  you  off."  He  then  secreted 
us  on  the  train  until  we  got  to  Oberlin,  when  he  brought 
us  out  and  let  us  go.  Here  were  three  men,  two  minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel,  one  of  whom  was  distinguished  for 
his  learning  and  influence,  being  courted,  admired  and 
honored,  a  Trustee  of  Oberlin  College,  the  other  was  a 
poor,  rough,  untutored  brakesman;  which  of  these  think 
you,  exhibited  most  the  spirit  of  the  good  Samaritan? 
We  had  not,  literally,  fallen  among  thieves,  but  we 
doubt  whether  the  man  who  was  found  lying  on  the  road 
to  Jericho  suffered  any  more  from  his  wounds,  which 
had  been  inflicted  by  the  robbers,  than  we  were  suffer- 
ing from  the  wounds  made  by  these  apostles  of  Christ, 
when  we  fell  into  the  hands  of  this  good  Samaritan  on 
the  Toledo  train. 

THE  TURNING  POINT. 

This  experience  was  the  turning  point  in  our  life.  In 
fact  it  was  indispensable  to  our  success,  our  life  would 
have  been  an  utter  failure  if  we  had  not  had  it.  Before 


1 54  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

this  we  were  exceedingly  timid,  and  overly  sensitive  of  the 
opinions  of  others  in  regard  to  ourselves,  besides  we 
were  proud  of  our  acquirements  and  native  worth.  This 
experience  broke  us  all  to  pieces,  it  was  a  literal  breaking 
over  the  wheel  and  making  us  new. 

Our  friends  at  Oberlin  were  surprised  to  see  us  back 
so  soon,  but  on  learning  our  experience  they  both  sym- 
pathized with  us  and  laughed  heartily  at  our  expense. 
Going  to  the  office  the  next  morning  we  were  surprised 
on  receiving  a  letter  from  our  father  in  which  was  twenty 
dollars,  and  an  urgent  request  that  we  come  home  at 
once.  Never  before  had  we  received  a  letter  which  we 
appreciated  so  highly.  Home  seemed  dear  before,  but 
much  dearer  now.  The  old  house  and  farm  and  every- 
thing associated  with  them  were  objects  of  endearment 
to  us  now,  as  they  had  never  been  before.  We  could 
not  pack  up  and  leave  soon  enough. 

RETURNED  HOME. 

Hence  within  two  hours  after  we  received  the  letter  we 
were  aboard  the  train  and  speeding  on  the  way  to  our 
home  in  old  Antrim  township,  Franklin  county,  Pa. 
We  shall  never  forget  our  impression  on  arriving  home. 
To  say  that  we  were  disappointed  hardly  half  expresses 
it.  We  were  hurt,  for  everything  looked  strange  and 
seemed  to  be  undergoing  a  change  for  the  worse.  What 
the  cause  was  we  could  not  fathom.  We  soon  discov- 
ered, however,  that  the  change  which  had  taken  place 
was  not  so  much  in  the  old  home  as  in  ourselves.  We 
were  not  the  same  ignorant,  green,  gawky  country  boy 
that  we  were  when  we  left  home  for  school,  five  years 
before,  as  was  evident  from  the  fact  that  we  were  not 
recognized  at  first,  even  by  our  father  when  we  met,  which 
was  a  source  of  no  little  disappointment  and  grief  to 
both. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

WENT  SOUTH  AS  A  MISSIONARY. 

We  remained  home  for  six  months.  In  the  mean- 
time having  accepted  a  position  as  teacher  under  the 
Board  of  Freedmen  we  left  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  1869, 
for  the  South,  and  for  two  years  had  charge  of  the  Pres- 
byterian School  at  Salisbury,  North  Carolina.  Our 
experience  during  these  two  years  was  exceedingly  in- 
teresting. Indeed  these  were  basal  years  of  our  life. 
We  had  heard  much  about  the  South. 

IMPRESSIONS   MADE  AGAINST   SLAVERY   IN 
FRANKLIN   COUNTY,  PA. 

Among  the  earliest  impressions  made  upon  our  child- 
ish mind  were  the  tales  of  horror  about  the  South  told 
by  the  fleeing  fugitive  as  he  lay  in  the  secret  enclosure 
of  my  father's  house  where  he  was  concealed.  It  was 
during  the  great  storm  which  burst  forth  with  such  rage 
and  fury  in  the  late  Rebellion,  which  culminated  in  the 
abolition  of  four  millions  of  human  chatties  that  we  grew 
up  into  youth  and  early  manhood.  The  neighborhood 
in  which  we  were  born  and  brought  up  was  the  scene  of 
some  of  the  bitterest  contentions  and  engagements  both 
before  and  during  the  war. 

It  was  in  this  community,  at  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  that 
old  Ossawattomie  Brown  brought  his  arms  and  held 
secret  councils  of  war  a  few  nights  before  his  memorable 
attack  upon  Harper's  Ferry  which  so  completely  para- 
lyzed the  South  that  it  has  never  fully  recovered  from  it, 
and  it  was  in  this  neighborhood  that  several  of  the  se- 
verest and  most  decisive  battles  were  fought  during  the 
war,  as  Bull  Run,  Sharpsburg,  Fredericksburg,  Antie- 

i55 


1 56  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

tarn,  and  Gettysburg.  This  community,  too,  was  the 
scene  of  many  raids  or  predatory  incursions  by  the  rebels 
during  the  late  Rebellion,  by  one  of  which  Chambers- 
burg,  our  county  seat,  was  razed  to  the  ground,  and  left 
a  heap  of  debris  and  ruin,  all  of  which  kept  the  people 
in  a  constant  state  of  fermentation. 

It  was  among  such  a  people,  surrounded  by  such  in- 
fluences that  we  were  brought  up,  and  of  course,  when 
we  went  South  we  were  surcharged  with  all  we  had  heard 
and  seen  and  read,  especially  as  it  was  so  soon  after  the 
close  of  the  war.  Never  have  we  undertaken  anything 
when  we  were  in  a  higher  state  of  excitement,  which 
arose,  not  from  any  fear  of  personal  harm,  for  this  we 
never  had,  but  from  a  feverish  desire  to  see  and  to  know 
for  ourselves.  We  had  heard  much  about  the  South,  the 
country  the  people,  the  state  of  morals,  the  cotton  fields, 
the  rice  swamps,  the  whipping  posts,  the  slave  pens,  the 
cabins,  the  swarms  of  colored  people  and  their  wrongs. 

FIRST   IMPRESSIONS  OF  THE  SOUTH. 

We  therefore  resolved  to  see  it  all,  to  go  to  the  bottom, 
so  as  to  form  a  correct  and  an  intelligible  conception  of 
the  state  of  things  as  they  then  existed  there.  Never 
were  two  years  more  interestingly  spent,  nor  fraught 
with  better  results  than  these  two  years  which  we  spent 
in  the  South.  Everything  we  saw,  country,  people,  cus- 
toms, and  ways,  was  to  us  an  object  of  intense  interest, 
and  we  examined  into  and  devoured  all,  with  a  relish, 
which  only  an  appetite  that  had  been  long  denied  can 
have.  Indeed  if  we  had  been  translated  to  the  moon 
or  to  one  of  the  planets,  we  could  not  have  been  more 
interested  in  what  we  saw.  As  to  our  life  being  en- 
dangered, there  is  one  thing  certain,  we  not  only  never 
knew  that  we  were  in  danger  but  never  felt  to  be  in 
danger,  or  rather  we  were  so  deeply  interested  in  what 
we  did  and  saw,  that  we  never  thought  about  danger. 

We  are  so  constituted  that  we  can  generally  see  the 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  157 

ridiculous  or  ludicrous  side  of  a  thing,  a  habit  whether 
a  vice  or  a  virtue,  which  has  served  to  carry  us  over 
many  a  rough  and  thorny  road  and  prevented  us  from 
falling  into  those  gloomy  and  desponding  states  with 
which  many  are  afflicted  and  which  make  them  un- 
happy and  miserable  both  to  themselves  and  their  friends. 
Hence  no  matter  how  badly  we  may  have  felt  when  we 
began  the  daily  rounds  of  our  work,  it  would  not  be 
long  before  we  would  be  convulsed  with  laughter,  over 
some  ludicrous  thing,  we  saw,  or  ridiculous  thing  we 
heard,  or  laughable  or  amusing  thought  which  passed 
through  our  mind,  which  latter  would  often 
be  at  our  own  expense.  Not  unfrequently  have 
we  been  known  to  turn  a  sarcastic  remark  or  insulting 
fling  from  ourselves  upon  the  head  of  him  who  cast  it, 
and  then  laugh  heartily  to  ourselves  at  the  ludicrous  ef- 
forts he  would  make  to  get  out  of  the  range  of  his  own 
guns.  It  was  this  mirthful  (or  ludicrous)  side  of  our 
nature  which  made  us  oblivious  to  danger,  but  intensely 
interested  in  everything  we  saw,  and  did,  while  in  the 
South.  During  the  two  years  we  were  there  we  hardly 
know  which  we  did  the  most  laugh  or  cry.  For  while 
we  would  be  at  one  moment  inwardly  weeping  over  the 
depths  of  degradation  which  could  be  seen  on  every 
side  not  merely  among  the  blacks  but  also  the  whites, 
the  next  moment  we  would  be  convulsed  with  laughter 
at  some  ridiculous  sight  or  episode  which  we  saw  or  ex- 
perienced on  the  streets. 

AMUSING    SIGHTS. 

For  example,  the  next  day  after  our  arrival  at  Salis- 
bury we  disgraced  ourselves  in  the  eyes  of  the  com- 
munity by  holding  our  sides  in  laughter  at  a  little  black 
fellow  with  a  load  of  cotton.  The  little  fellow  was  bare- 
footed, ragged  and  dirty,  while  his  team  consisted  of  a 
mule  under  the  saddle,  an  ox  on  the  off  side,  and  a 
horse  in  the  lead,  which  latter  was  guided  with  a  rope 


1 58  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

line.  When  the  little  fellow  drove  up  yelling  at  the  top 
of  his  voice,  and  at  the  same  time  digging  his  heels  into 
the  mule,  we  impulsively  roared  with  laughter.  The 
sight  was  the  most  ridiculous,  we  had  ever  seen,  and  it 
completely  overcame  our  equilibrium. 

Sometime  after  this  we  entered  one  of  the  principal 
stores  to  make  a  small  purchase  for  our  school;  when 
one  of  the  clerks  came  up  to  us  rubbing  his  hands  and 
smiling  most  pleasantly  addressed  us  thus:  "Good  morn- 
ing uncle:"  "It's  a  delightful  morning,  uncle,  isn't  it?" 
"Now,  uncle,  what  can  I  do  for  you?"  Now  as  we  were 
not  aware  that  we  had  a  nephew  in  the  South,  and  too 
such  a  fine  intelligent  looking  one  as  this  we  expressed 
our  surprise  and  asked  him  if  he  would  kindly  tell  us 
whether  it  were  on  our  mother's  or  father's  side  he  came 
in,  because  we  had  heard  father  say  that  one  of  his 
brothers  went  off  when  young  and  was  never  heard  from 
afterwards  and  we  thought  perhaps  he  might  have  gone 
South,  and  we  thought  perhaps  he  might  have  mistaken 
us  for  his  father's  brother.  The  youngster  turned  crim- 
son, then  ashy,  while  his  fellow  clerks  roared  at  his  ex- 
pense. Of  course  we  acted  as  if  we  were  perfectly  ignorant 
of  the  cause  of  the  uprorious  laughter,  posing  as  if  we 
were  innocent,  having  meant  just  what  we  asked,  (?) 
suffice  it  to  say  this  young  Southern  blood  never  again 
called  us  uncle,  though  we  were  a  frequent  visitor  at  his 
store.  And  we  have  reason  to  doubt  whether  he  ever 
addressed  any  other  Negro  as  uncle. 

It  also  gave  us  no  little  inward  mirth  to  see  a  big 
buxom  girl  having  a  milk-cow  harnessed  to  a  plough 
and  ploughing  in  the  field.  This  together  with  the  pe- 
culiar down  South  vernacular  which  she  used  which  may 
have  been  more  intelligible  to  the  cow  than  to  us  kept 
us  in  a  constant  state  of  risibility. 

Another  laughable  case  was  on  board  the  train  when 
we  were  leaving  the  South  for  Oberlin,  Ohio,  after  we 
had  been  there  two  years.  When  we  went  South  we 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  159 

resolved  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  politics  but  to  attend 
strictly  to  our  duty  as  a  missionary,  but  at  the  same  time 
that  we  would  demand  our  rights  on  all  public  convey- 
ances. We  resolved  that  we  would  never  be  compelled 
to  ride  in  a  second  class  car,  and  if  we  rode  in  a  second 
class  car  it  would  be  at  our  own  option.  In  the  South 
immediately  after  the  war  they  had  two  kinds  of  second- 
class  cars.  One  was  for  all  white  second-class  passengers, 
the  other  was  for  "niggers"  as  they  were  termed.  These 
two  compartments  were  formed  by  running  a  partition 
through  the  centre  of  a  car  with  communicating  door. 
In  the  "nigger"  car,  all  colored  people  were  compelled 
to  ride,  whether  they  had  first  or  second  class  tickets,  and 
all  white  smokers  were  privileged  to  go  there  and  smoke. 
In  the  other  end,  all  second  class  passengers  and  emi- 
grants rode.  On  the  occasion  referred  to,  as  we  were 
not  paid  off,  and  would  not  be  until  we  got  to  Pittsburg, 
we  concluded  to  purchase  an  emigrant  ticket,  and  go 
as  far  as  Baltimore,  at  least,  as  an  emigrant,  and  thus 
save  one-half  or  two-thirds  of  the  expense.  The  emi- 
grants consisted  of  one  man  besides  ourselves,  and  a 
white  woman  with  eight  grown  daughters,  who  was  on 
her  way  to  Kansas  to  meet  her  husband,  who  had  gone 
there  to  settle.  We  said  to  the  colored  brother  who  was 
armed  with  an  emigrant  ticket,  "Remember  we  are  emi- 
grants, and  we  will  go  into  the  emigrant  end."  He 
looked  rather  shy,  and  timid,  but  seeing  that  we  were 
determined,  he  followed  us  in.  The  white  mother  and 
daughters  looked  like  thunder  clouds  at  us,  and  if  they 
had  not  been  afraid  would  have  taken  us  up  bodily  and 
pitched  us  off.  After  a  while  the  conductor  came  in  and 
after  collecting  our  tickets  he  very  politely  told  us  that 
the  other  end  was  for  colored  people.  We  told  him  we 
were  emigrants  and  that  we  were  in  the  right  car.  He 
left  us  but  very  soon  his  colored  brakesman  came  in, 
saying  that  the  conductor  sent  him  to  say  that  we  must 
go  into  the  colored  end  of  the  car.  Our  fellow  emigrant 


160  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

became  frightened  and  went  almost  on  a  trot  to  the  end 
set  apart  for  colored  people,  and  left  us  to  fight  all 
alone;  very  soon  our  brakesman  came  to  us  again  with 
the  same  instruction  from  the  conductor.  We  now  told 
him  if  he  did  not  let  us  alone,  we  would  pitch  him  head 
foremost  off  the  train.  From  that  on  until  we  arrived 
at  Baltimore  we  were  not  interfered  with  further.  But  it 
was  laughable  to  see  the  change  which  gradually  came 
over  our  fellow  emigrants.  At  first  they  sat  like  nine 
tigresses,  ready  to  tear  us  to  pieces.  But  they  gradually 
lost  their  tiger-like  spirit  as  they  got  further  away 
from  the  familiar  scenes  of  home  and  the  South,  to  scenes 
which  were  less  familiar,  so  that  before  we  reached  Balti- 
more, they  acted  more  like  sisters  or  old  familiar  friends 
than  deadly  enemies.  But  now  it  was  our  time.  We  felt 
that  we  had  been  companions  long  enough,  and  it  would 
be  more  healthful  for  us  to  part,  for  we  knew  that  at 
Baltimore  or  at  Harrisburg,  the  farthest,  the  ever  me- 
morable emigrant  train  would  be  in  waiting  to  take  us 
West.  So  we  bade  them  an  affectionate  farewell  at  Balti- 
more, and  took  a  first  class  express  train  for  Pittsburg. 
Never  had  friends  regretted  more  to  have  us  leave  than 
these  same  white  women.  This  only  goes  to  show 
what  we  have  always  believed,  namely,  that  color  or 
Negro  prejudice,  is  not  the  result  of  an  innate  or  natural 
antipathy  toward  the  Negro  because  of  the  color  of  his 
skin,  but  wholly  because  of  his  past  and  present  condi- 
tion. Lift  them  out  of  this  condition,  let  him  become 
educated,  and  refined,  let  his  moral  and  religious  stand- 
ard be  high  and  prejudice  against  him  because  he  is  a 
Negro  will  have  vanished.  Just  as  soon  as  those  women 
on  that  North  Carolina  train  got  from  under  their  en- 
vironments, and  were  able  to  see  us  through  their  natural 
eyes,  and  discovered  that  we  were  a  gentleman,  and  in- 
stead of  being  objectionable  we  were  an  assistance,  their 
prejudice  rapidly  began  to  vanish,  so  that  by  the  time 
we  reached  Baltimore  it  was  entirely  gone. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  161 

The  two  years'  work  in  the  South  were  attended  with 
most  satisfactory  results.  The  school  we  had  was  large- 
ly attended  by  a  most  enthusiastic  class  of  scholars,  con- 
sisting of  all  ages  and  complexions  from  the  little  tot, 
of  the  age  for  the  Kindergarten,  to  old  granddaddy  and 
grandmammy  who  came  leaning  on  their  staffs;  but 
these  last  were  as  eager  to  learn  as  the  youngest,  and 
much  more  than  many  of  the  younger.  It  was  a  much 
more  interesting  sight  indeed  to  see  these  old  people 
learning  their  letters  and  spelling  out  the  words  in  their 
endeavor  to  read.  Never  have  we  seen  brighter  and 
more  energetic  scholars  than  some  at  this  school.  Many 
of  them  walking  from  six  to  ten  miles  every  day  in  order 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity  to  learn  to  read, 
write  and  cipher.  A  number  of  the  most  prominent 
educators  and  professional  men  and  women  in  the  South 
to-day  received  their  first  instruction  under  us  in  our 
school  at  Salisbury.  We  were  never  more  thoroughly 
wedded  to  a  work  than  we  were  to  this  and  never  were 
we  more  dearly  attached  to  a  people.  To  us,  teaching 
was  not  only  a  duty,  but  it  was  a  joy.  We  entered  into 
it  with  all  our  heart,  and  it  was  not  long  before  we  were 
completely  captivated  by  the  work  and  the  people. 
There  was  no  time  for  homesickness  or  the  blues,  or 
fears  of  personal  harm.  The  people  all  around  us  were 
crying  for  intellectual  and  spiritual  bread  and  there  were 
at  that  time  but  few  of  us  to  furnish  it.  So  that  when 
the  time  came  for  us  to  leave,  in  order  to  resume  our 
course  of  study,  it  was  the  most  trying  ordeal  that  we 
have  ever  experienced.  The  whole  school  wept  and 
came  with  their  parents  to  the  depot  to  see  us  off. 


ii 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

RETURNED  TO  OBERLIN.     COMPLETION  OF  COLLEGE  COURSE. 
IMPRESSIONS  OF  PRINCETON. 

Returning  to  Oberlin,  we  joined  the  class  of  '74,  hav- 
ing lost  two  years  by  going  South. 

We  wish  to  remark  here,  that  just  before  the  call  to 
go  South,  we  received  a  very  pressing  letter  from  How- 
ard University  to  come  there  and  finish  our  course, 
promising  to  pay  all  our  expenses  if  we  would  go.  We 
replied,  offering  as  an  excuse  for  not  going,  that  we 
had  not  the  money  to  pay  our  car  fare,  from  our  home 
to  Washington.  The  very  next  mail  brought  us  a  check 
to  pay  our  way  to  Washington.  We  were  now  caught 
in  our  own  trap.  But  our  mind  was  made  up  to  gradu- 
ate at  Oberlin  and  that  nothing  should  divert  us  from  our 
purpose.  Therefore  we  returned  the  check  with  regrets, 
choosing  to  drop  back  two  years,  rather  than  to  gradu- 
ate elsewhere  than  at  Oberlin.  The  friend,  who  sent 
us  the  first  letter  urging  us  to  come  to  Howard,  and 
afterwards  sent  us  a  check,  was  the  Principal  of  the  Pre- 
paratory Department  there,  a  graduate  of  Oberlin  from 
both  the  College  and  Theological  Seminary,  but  is  now  a 
millionaire  of  New  York  city,  and  has  a  controlling  in- 
terest in  all  the  cement  used  in  the  concrete  pavements 
throughout  the  country,  viz.,  Mr.  Amizi  L.  Barber. 

COMPLETED   CLASSICAL  COURSE  AT  OBERLIN. 

The  three  years  spent  at  Oberlin,  which  were  required 
to  complete  our  course  of  study,  while  years  of  severe 
trials,  as  we  were  straitened  for  the  most  part  for  funds, 
were,  nevertheless,  years  fraught  with  interest.  Aside  from 
forming  some  of  the  most  cherished  friends  of  our  life, 
men  and  women,  who  are  the  very  salt  of  the  earth,  in 
162 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  163 

everything  that  is  pure,  and  good,  and  noble,  we  formed 
also  the  acquaintance  of  Miss  Caroline  V.  Still,  daughter 
of  William  Still,  the  well-known  author  of  the  Under 
Ground  Railroad,  who,  afterwards,  became  our  partner 
for  life,  ahd  to  whom  we  owe,  largely  whatever  measure 
of  success,  our  labors  may  have  attained,  though  it  never 
occurred  to  us  at  the  time,  that  she  was  chosen  by  God 
for  us.  Charles  Ryder,  also  became  our  fast  friend  and 
classmate,  who  is  now  Rev.  Charles  Ryder,  D.  D.,  one 
of  the  Secretaries  of  the  American  Missionary  Associa- 
tion, in  New  York  City,  and  is  doing  a  noble  work  for 
Christ  and  humanity. 
We  graduated  at  Oberlin  in  the  class  of  1874. 

ENTERED  UPON  OUR  SEMINARY  COURSE. 

After  graduating  at  Oberlin,  we  came  to  Pittsburg, 
with  the  express  purpose  of  taking  our  Theological 
Course  at  the  Western  Theological  Seminary,  at  Alle- 
gheny, as  it  was  cheaper  than  Princeton,  though  Prince- 
ton was  our  choice.  We  matriculated  and  had  our  room 
assigned,  but  in  the  meantime,  we  wrote  to  Dr.  M'cGill, 
at  Princeton,  asking  to  know  what  inducements  were 
offered  poor  students.  In  a  few  days  we  received  a 
reply,  offering  most  flattering  inducements,  much  better 
than  they  gave  in  the  Western  Seminary,  and  urging 
us  strongly  to  come  to  Princeton.  We  made  up  our 
mind  at  once  to  go,  notwithstanding  we  had  matricu- 
lated and  secured  a  room  in  the  Western  Theological 
Seminary.  But  there  was  one  most  serious  obstacle  in 
the  way. 

We  had  a  most  valuable  and  honored  cousin  in  busi- 
ness in  Pittsburg,  who  was  very  desirous  to  have  us  go 
through  at  Allegheny,  and  who  had  placed  us  under 
many  obligations  to  him,  by  frequent  acts  of  kindness, 
as  introducing  us  to  valuable  friends,  giving  us  good  and 
substantial  advice,  &c.  But  there  was  one  noble  act 
above  all  others  he  did  for  us,  which  made  us  feel  as 


1 64  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

if  we  were  in  honor  bound  to  go  through  at  the  Alle- 
gheny Seminary. 

PLEDGE  FROM  THE  AVERY  TRUSTEES. 

When  we  left  Oberlin,  we  were  $500  in  debt,  and  our 
first  thought  was  to  go  out  and  earn  this  money  and 
pay  off  this  indebtedness,  before  going  on  with  our 
theological  course.  When  we  conferred  with  Cousin 
Hezekiah,  he  said  he  thought  he  could  help  us  to  get 
a  part  of  the  money,  at  least,  in  Pittsburg,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  he  secured  a  written  pledge  from  the 
Trustees  of  the  Avery  Fund  that  they  would  give  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  provided  that  we  would  raise 
two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  additional.  This  was  a 
noble  act  on  the  part  of  my  cousin,  and  it  did  seem,  that 
we  could  not,  in  honor,  leave  and  go  to  Princeton.  We 
showed  him  Dr.  McGill's  letter,  however,  and  while  he 
was  surprised,  and  evidently  disappointed,  he  advised, 
that  if  we  preferred  Princeton  we  had  better  go  there. 

LEFT  ALLEGHENY  FOR   PRINCETON. 

Suffice  it  to  say,  in  less  than  two  hours  we  were  aboard 
the  train  on  our  way  to  Princeton,  When  we  arrived 
at  Harrisburg,  we  called  on  Dr.  Thomas  H.  Robinson, 
pastor  of  the  Market  Square  Church,  of  that  city,  now 
Prof,  of  Sacred  Rhetoric,  in  the  Western  Theological 
Seminary,  and  told  him  of  our  desire  to  go  to  Prince- 
ton, in  preference  to  the  Seminary  at  Allegheny,  show- 
ing him  at  the  same  time  the  letter  from  Dr.  McGill, 
setting  forth  the  advantages  of  Princeton,  and  advising 
us  to  come  there.  We  also  let  him  see  the  pledge  of  the 
Trustees  of  the  Avery  Fund.  He  advised  us  to  go  to 
Princeton  by  all  means,  as  it  offered  better  inducements 
than  Allegheny.  He  also  advised  that  we  let  him  take 
the  pledge  of  the  Avery  Trustees,  and  he  would  raise 
the  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  required  to  secure  the 
pledge,  and  pay  off  our  Oberlin  debt.  He  also  handed 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  165 

us  twenty  dollars,  and  a  ticket  to  Princeton,  a  more  gen- 
erous and  noble  act  of  kindness  it  has  never  been  our 
lot  to  receive,  and  we  shall  ever  hold  the  donor  in  grate- 
ful remembrance. 

DR.  McGiLL's   EMBARRASSMENT. 

We  went  immediately  to  Princeton,  arriving  October 
1 4th,  1874,  nearly  a  month  after  the  term  had  opened. 
We  called  immediately  upon  Dr.  McGill,  when  we  re- 
ceived a  surprise  which  we  were  not  expecting.  The 
Doctor  met  us  most  formally,  and  without  asking  us 
to  be  seated,  addressed  us  thus :  "You  are  the  man  that 
was  to  see  me  about  some  work,  I  presume?  What  can 
you  do?  Where  did  you  work  last?"  All  in  one  breath, 
and  without  giving  us  a  chance  to  answer.  We  were 
so  surprised  and  taken  down  from  our  high  pedestal  of 
expectancy  that  we  could  not  for  a  moment  frame  a 
suitable  answer.  But  it  flashed  upon  us,  that  no  better 
answer  could  be  given  than  his  letter  which  we  handed 
him.  A  study  of  the  old  Doctor's  face  as  he  glanced 
over  his  own  letter  was  as  good  as  a  play.  For  a  mo- 
ment he  looked  intensely  at  the  letter,  then  raised  his 
eyes  and  glanced  at  us,  then  scrutinized  the  letter  again, 
after  which  he  reached  out  his  hand  and  said  "Mr.  An- 
derson I'm  glad  to  see  you,  I  didn't  know,  Mr.  Ander- 
son, that  it  was  you  I  was  writing  to.  Take  a  seat."  By 
this  time  all  the  ludicrous  side  of  our  nature  was  excited, 
and  we  would  have  given  anything  to  roar,  but  we  were 
under  bonds  to  keep  our  equilibrium  and  we  simply  re- 
plied to  his  surprises,  "Yes,"  "No."  "Oh  yes."  He 
continued,  "Now  Mr.  Anderson,  I  will  give  you  a  note 
of  introduction  to  a  most  estimable  colored  lady,  Mrs. 
Anthony  Simmons,  a  lady  of  whom  the  best  people  of 
Princeton  have  the .  highest  consideration  and  regard, 
she  will  room  and  board  you  I  know,  and  with  her  you 
will  have  the  best  of  care."  We  felt  now  it  was  time 
to  take  a  positive  stand  and  not  to  swerve  an  iota  from 


1 66  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

what  we  knew  to  be  right  and  duty.  "Dr.  McGill,"  we 
said,  "we  left  the  Western  Theological  Seminary  and 
came  to  Princeton  because  of  the  superior  inducements 
which  Princeton  offered,  as  stated  in  your  letter,  now  if 
these  advantages  are  not  to  be  had,  we  will  go  back 
to  Allegheny."  The  old  Doctor  wilted,  he  saw  we  had 
him.  "Oh,  yes,  Mr.  Anderson,"  he  replied,  "Princeton 
offers  all  the  inducements  which  I  wrote  you,  but  don't 
you  think  you  would  feel  more  at  'home  among  your 
own  people.  There  are  no  colored  students  in  the 
Seminary,  and  none  ever  roomed  in  the  dormitories." 
"Dr.  McGill,  it  was  because  of  the  dormitories  and  their 
furnishings  we  came,"  we  replied;  "as  to  our  being  more 
at  home  among  the  colored  people,  we  feel  we  have  been 
with  both  classes  all  our  lives,  besides  we  have  not  come 
to  Princeton  to  be  entertained,  but  to  study." 

The  old  Dr.,  finding  that  we  were  not  to  be  turned 
from  our  position,  gave  us  a  note  to  Dr.  Moffat,  asking 
him  to  be  kind  enough  to  assign  the  bearer,  Mr.  Ander- 
son, a  room  in  the  Old  Seminary  Building,  and  greatly 
oblige,  Alexander  McGill.  We  took  the  note,  and 
thanked  him  most  kindly  and  made  direct  for  Dr. 
Moffat's  but  we  could  not  resist  the  ridiculous  thoughts 
that  came  crowding  in  our  mind,  as  we  recalled  the  in- 
terview with  Dr.  McGill. 

We  had  read  somewhere  of  a  little  dog  which  had 
followed  some  friends  into  a  fashionable  church  barking 
at  the  minister  as  he  preached,  when  a  drunken  man, 
who  was  sitting  in  one  of  the  back  pews,  marched  de- 
liberately up  to  where  the  dog  was  in  the  front  of  the 
pulpit,  and  caught  him  back  of  the  neck  and  held  him 
up,  at  the  same  time  shaking  him  saying,  "You  dirty 
mean  little  pup,  you  will  tree  a  minister  will  you?"  We 
felt  that  we  were  like  that  dog,  we  had  treed  a  minister, 
and  not  only  treed  him  but  bagged  him  also,  and  that 
too,  a  Docton  of  Divinity,  and  a  Princeton  Professor. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  167 

DR.  MOFFAT. 

Dr.  Moffat  seemed  equally  surprised  when  he  read 
the  note.  He  wasn't  sure  that  there  was  a  room  in  the 
seminary  to  be  assigned,  he  said;  however,  he  would 
go  and  see. 

GIVEN  A  LUMBER  ROOM. 

After  a  whispered  consultation  with  one  of  the  ser- 
vants, about  the  building,  he  took  us  to  a  room  which 
evidently  had  been  used  as  a  storage  room,  from  the 
quantity  of  old  broken  chairs,  bedsteads  and  shutters 
that  were  in  it,  and  assigned  it  to  us.  We  raised  no  ob- 
jection to  the  room,  whatever,  on  account  of 
the  condition,  for  we  knew  well,  if  we  once  got  our  head 
in,  we  would  be  something  like  the  camel  in  the  fable, 
everything  objectionable  would  have  to  go  out;  hence 
it  would  not  be  long  before  broken  chairs,  bedsteads, 
and  shutters  would  be  flying  out  in  every  direction  to 
make  room  for  the  body  of  the  Negro,  who  had  gotten 
in  his  head. 

GOOD   ROOM   GIVEN. 

When  we  occupied  the  room  for  about  two  weeks  we 
were  called  upon  by  one  of  our  wealthiest  classmates, 
who  is  now  a  professor  in  Princeton  University,  who, 
when  he  noticed  the  pile  of  broken  objects,  said  "Mr. 
Anderson  this  room  is  not  fit  for  occupancy,  it  is  a  lum- 
ber room.  There  is  a  room  on  the  other  side  of  the  hall 
vacant,  there  is  no  reason  why  it  shouldn't  be  assigned 
to  you.  I  would  advise  you  to  go  and  see  Dr.  Moffat, 
and  ask  'him  if  he  would  not  assign  you  that  room."  We 
at  once  called  upon  Dr.  Moffat  and  asked  for  the  room 
"Why  what  is  the  mitter  with  the  room  you  have?"  quer- 
ied Dr.  Moffat,  in  his  Scotch-Irish  brogue.  "It  is  a 
lumber  room,"  we  answered.  "We  never  had  any  to 
room  in  the  seminary  before,"  he  retorted,  referring  to 
Negro  students,  "It  makes  no  difference  to  us  whether 
you  ever  did  or  not,  Doctor,"  we  replied,  "we  are  going 


1 68  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

to  room  there,  and  have  a  suitable  room,  too,  because  we 
were  assured  by  the  corresponding  secretary,  Dr.  Mc- 
Gill,  that  a  good  room,  well  furnished,  would  be  given 
us  in  the  seminary  building  should  we  come,  and  if  we 
can't  get  this  we  will  leave."  The  old  Doctor  did  not 
make  any  further  reply,  but  nervously  assigned  us  the  de- 
sired room.  This  ended  our  battles  at  old  Princeton 
on  the  race  question.  From  this  time  until  we  grad- 
uated we  could  not  have  been  better  treated  in  any 
school,  than  we  were  at  Princeton,  both  by  faculty  and 
students. 

IMPRESSIONS  OF  PRINCETON. 

With  the  exception  of  a  little  weakness  on  the  part 
of  the  seminary  in  regard  to  the  Negro,  which  needs 
strengthening  up,  our  impressions  of  Princeton  are  of 
the  very  highest  kind.  The  Faculty  for  the  most  part 
is  composed,  not  only  of  men  of  the  ripest  scholarship 
and  soundest  doctrine,  but  of  high-tone  Christian  gen- 
tlemen. Men  who  impress  you  that  they  have  come 
from  noble  antecedents  both  as  to  blood  and  doctrine. 
The  seminary  buildings,  too,  are  very  impressive,  being 
large  and  massive,  and  as  they  are  built  of  stone,  they 
give  the  Institution  an  air  of  strength  and  endurance. 
This  is  true  of  nearly  all  the  buildings,  both  of  the  semi- 
nary and  the  university  generally,  while  the  campuses 
of  the  seminary  and  college,  we  think,  are  the  most  beau- 
tiful of  any  college  seat  in  the  land. 

We  say  that  with  the  exception  of  a  little  weakness  on 
the  subject  of  the  Negro,  our  impressions  of  Princeton 
are  of  the  very  highest.  In  regard  to  the  estimation  and 
treatment  of  the  Negro  on  the  part  of  Princeton  we  have 
this  to  say,  that  she  has  not  measured  up  to  the  Chris- 
tian standard  in  her  attitude  toward,  and  treatment  of 
the  Negro,  owing  largely  to  the  proslavery  spirit  which 
impregnated  the  place  before  the  war,  caused  by  South- 
ern slave  holders,  who  settled  in  and  about  the  place, 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  169 

and  yet  there  never  was  the  day  in  the  history  of  the 
seminary  when  her  doors  were  closed  against  the  Negro 
student,  which  is.  not  true  of  some  seminaries  of  other 
denominations,  even  now  in  the  North.  From  the  very 
first  the  Negro  was  received  to  her  halls  on  precisely 
the  same  footing  as  his  white  brother,  and  was  required 
to  pass  through  the  same  curriculum. 

But  we  are  sorry  that  a  school  which  had  taken  such 
a  noble  stand  in  the  dark  days  of  her  early  history, 
and  with  the  standing  and  prestige  of  Princeton,  would, 
for  one  moment,  do  anything  which  would  in  any  way 
tarnish  the  lustre  of  her  name,  or  subject  her  to  criti- 
cism, with  no  more  reason  for  her  action  orf  course  than 
that  of  holding  on  to  a  foolish  and  wicked  prejudice, 
which  ought  long  since  to  have  been  given  up  and  bur- 
ied in  the  grave  of  oblivion. 

Up  to  the  time  that  we  entered  Princeton,  as  was  ad- 
mitted by  Dr.  Moffat,  a  Negro  had  not  been  given  a 
room  in  one  of  her  dormitaries,  and  we  learn  from 
good  and  reliable  authority  that  after  the  graduation  of 
the  four  colored  students,  namely:  Frank  J.  Grimkie, 
Hugh  M.  Browne,  Daniel  W.  Gulp  and  the  writer, 
all  of  whom  were  there  at  the  same  time,  that 
not  a  single  Negro  student,  has  roomed  in  one 
of  the  buildings,  though  a  number  have  gradu- 
ated from  the  seminary  since  then.  The  only 
exception,  if  it  can  be  called  an  exception,  being  in  the 
case  of  a  Negro  student,  who  was  taken  in  for  a  short 
time  by  one  of  the  other  students  while  making  a  fight 
for  a  room,  at  the  beginning  of  his  junior  year,  who 
afterwards  drew  a  room,  but  gave  it  up  and  took  a 
room  in  one  of  the  colored  families  of  the  town,  through 
pressure  which  had  been  brought  to  bear  upon  him  by  the 
Seminary.  We  are  a  Presbyterian  of  the  Presbyterians; 
the  very  fibre  of  our  mental  make-up  being  Presbyterian ; 
before  this  nation  came  into  existence  our  grand  sires 
were  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  we  are  firm  in  the 


1 70  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

belief  that  the  Presbyterian  Church  is  the  church  for  the 
Negro,  but  we  are  forced  to  sayi  that  before  the  Presby- 
terian or  any  other  church  can  have  any  great  success 
in  getting  hold  of  the  Negro,  the  fountain  head  of  that 
church,  the  schools  of  the  prophets  must  be  right  to- 
wards him.  For  if  the  Theological  Schools  are  wrong 
in  their  attitude  towards  the  Negro,  the  young  men 
they  send  out  as  ministers  will  be  wrong  in  their  atti- 
tude towards  him,  and  if  the  ministry  is  wrong,  the  peo- 
ple whom  they  teach  will  be  wrong  also,  for  like  priest 
like  people.  Let  Princeton  Seminary,  the  fountain  head 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  turn  about  and  make  her- 
self perfectly  right  in  regard  to  the  Negro,  and  it  will 
not  be  many  years  before  the  Presbyterian  Church  will 
possess  the  land  of  Nigritia. 

WESTERN  CLASSMATES  AT  PRINCETON. 

When  we  went  to  Princeton  we  found  two  young  men 
there  who  had  been  classmates  of  ours  at  Oberlin,  and 
who  like  ourselves  were  poor  and  had  to  struggle  every 
way  to  get  through  the  college.  They  roomed  in  the 
same  building  at  Princeton  that  we  did,  and  on  the 
same  floor.  These  young  men  had  undergone  a  most 
radical  change  in  their  actions  towards  us  at  Princeton. 
For  although  we  met  regularly  in  the  same  class,  a  num- 
ber of  times  a  day,  and  roomed  on  the  same  floor,  they 
were  exceedingly  formal,  most  distant  in  their  recog- 
nition, did  not  call  upon  us,  until  we  had  been  at  Prince- 
ton over  two  months,  and  then  not  until  we  had  been 
recognized  by  several  of  the  wealthiest  and  honored 
young  men  of  the  class. 

Occasionally  one  of  the  honor  men  would  have  us  go 
out  walking,  preach  over  with  him  our  sermon  in  the 
woods,  and  go  over  the  lectures  with  us.  Seeing  that  the 
wealthy  students  of  our  class  did  not  disdain  the  Negro, 
our  Western  classmates  began  to  be  very  friendly. 
They  would  not  only  speak  most  familiarly,  but  stop 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  171 

and  converse  about  the  state  of  our  health,  the 
weather,  the  studies,  our  impressions  of  Prince- 
ton as  compared  with  Oberlin,  &c.  But  we  were  not 
so  easily  mulched.  We  saw  at  once  the  reason  for 
this  radical  change.  While  they  had  been  running  away 
from  the  Negro  they  had  not  become  popular  with  the 
honored  members  of  the  class,  while  the  Negro  was 
treated  by  them  most  friendly. 

Hence  they  would  criticise  most  unmercifully  Prince- 
ton, the  students,  the  Faculty  and  the  work  in  the  semi- 
nary, and  tried  to  get  us  to  be  of  the  same  way  of  think- 
ing, but  they  never  could  succeed. 

Instead  of  agreeing  with  them  we  would  laud  Prince- 
ton to  the  skies.  When  they  expressed  regret  that  they 
had  come  to  Princeton  to  study  theology,  we  said  that 
it  was  the  delight  of  our  lives  that  we  came.  When  they 
said  the  students  were  most  unsociable,  we  said,  we 
thought  them  most  sociable,  far  more  so  than  the  stu- 
dents at  Oberlin.  These  two  young  men  boarded  at  the 
Refectory,  while  we  boarded  at  Mrs.  Anthony  Simmons, 
(the  estimable  colored  lady  whom  Dr.  McGill  recom- 
mended so  highly).  The  quality  of  board  in  these  two 
houses  was  just  the  opposite.  Our  table  was  that 
of  a  caterer,  for  that  was  what  Mrs.  Simmons,  and  her 
husband,  too,  in  his  life  time,  did  for  a  living.  The 
table  of  the  other  was  that  of  a  refectory.  Now  every 
one  who  had  been  a  student  at  Princeton  Seminary  in 
the  early  seventies  knows  what  kind  of  a  table  that 
was.  Sometimes  they  would  talk  to  us  about  their 
board,  and  tell  how  poor  it  was,  how  little  they  got  to 
eat,  that  it  was  nothing  compared  with  the  board  at 
Oberlin. 

Though  we  did  not  tell  them,  we  were  compelled  to 
believe  it,  judging  from  their  hungry  looks.  But  in- 
stead of  admitting  that  we  believed  it,  we  said  we  could 
not  conceive  how  there  could  be  such  a  great  difference 
between  their  board  and  ours  and  we  were  not  slow  to 


1 72  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

give  them  an  idea  of  our  menu ;  which  when  they  heard 
of  the  fried  oysters,  the  chicken  salad,  the  fish,  the  ex- 
cellent desserts,  they  looked  only  the  more  hungry,  and 
envious  of  our  good  fortune.  Of  course  we  tried  to 
make  our  table,  decorated  in  faultless  linen  and  laden 
with  all  the  luxuries  of  the  season,  look  as  realistic  as 
possible. 

One  day  they  came  to  us  and  said:  "Brother  Ander- 
son, we  would  be  happy  to  have  you  take  dinner  with 
us  to-day."  As  we  were  anxious  to  see  something  of 
the  refectory  board,  we  accepted  the  invitation  and  went, 
and  when  we  saw  and  partook  of  the  meal,  which  con- 
sisted of  black,  heavy  bread,  strong  butter,  boiled  meat 
and  potatoes,  weak  coffee  and  tea,  sweetened  with  dark 
sugar,  we  were  not  surprised  that  our  two  Oberlin  class- 
mates were  dissatisfied,  and  that  they  looked  lean  and 
hungry.  Of  course  we  had  to  eat,  and  having  an  ex- 
cellent stomach  and  a  good  digestive  apparatus  we  did 
eat  with  a  relish,  gulping  down  bread  and  butter,  meat 
and  potatoes,  and  drinking  the  coffee  as  if  we  were  really 
enjoying  it  hugely.  Indeed,  judging  from  the  sparkle 
in  their  eyes,  they  evidently  thought  that  they  had  it 
on  us  after  all.  The  meal  ended,  we  wiped  our  mouths, 
thanked  our  class-mates  for  their  kind  consideration, 
and  bade  them  adieu. 

It  was  now  our  time  to  return  the  compliment.  So  in 
the  course  of  a  week  we  called  at  their  room  and  gave 
them  a  most  pressing  invitation  to  take  dinner  with  us, 
setting  the  time,  which  they  accepted.  In  the  mean- 
time we  apprized  our  landlady,  Mrs.  Simmons,  of  what 
we  had  done,  giving  her  a  running  commentary  of  the 
young  men,  our  experience  with  them,  &c.,  and  had 
her  consent  to  get  up  one  of  her  characteristic  meals, 
such  as  only  a  caterer  knows  how  to  get  up.  The  meal 
was  a  grand  one,  a  veritable  feast.  It  was  served  in 
courses,  and  consisted  of  some  ten,  commencing  with 
soup  and  ending  with  candies  and  nuts,  besides  the 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  173 

dining  room  was  most  handsomely  decorated  with  roses, 
which  gave  it  more  the  air  of  a  banquet  than  an  ordi- 
nary meal.  The  boys  looked  surprised,  bewildered,  and, 
while  we  put  on  an  air  of  indifference  or  nonchalance, 
and  ate  and  chatted  as  if  we  were  partaking  of  a  meal 
which  was  in  no  way  unlike  in  kind  to  the  regular  every 
day  dinner  of  the  household.  The  two  boys  had  but  little 
to  say,  but  the  fried  oysters,  chicken  salad,  tongue,  roast 
turkey,  terrapin,  a  la  mode  beef,  ice  cream  and  cake  made 
their  way  in  regular  order,  and  in  rapid  succession  to 
the  plates  and  mouths  of  these  young  men.  They  were 
so  pleased  with  their  meal  and  the  family  that  they  came 
to  us  afterwards  to  know  whether  there  was  any  chance 
for  them  to  secure  board  at  the  same  place.  But  our 
good  landlady  thought  that  one  theolog.  was  quite 
enough  for  her  time  and  patience.  We  will  simply  re- 
mark that  our  Western  class  mates  became  so  greatly 
discouraged  and  disgusted  at  old  Princeton,  that  they 
left  and  went  elsewhere  to  complete  their  theological 
course. 

THE  NEGRO  STUDENT  AT  PRINCETON  SEMINARY. 

Until  we  came  to  Princeton  a  Negro  student  had  not 
been  in  the  seminary  for  a  number  of  years  consequent- 
ly our  appearance  was  a  novelty  to  all  the 
students,  as  well  as  the  people  of  the  town.  We  never 
could  go  out  on  the  streets,  enter  a  store  or  cross  the 
campus,  but  we  would  see  some  one  nudging  an- 
other, or  casting  a  knowing  glance  at  us,  and  then  at  a 
friend,  if  not  speaking  out  audibly,  "There  he  goes."  At 
first  these  nudges,  glances  and  utterances  were  very  an- 
noying, but  with  our  natural  vein  of  mirthfulness  we  soon 
turned  them  into  sport,  and  took  them  as  a  capital  joke. 

After  we  had  been  at  Princeton  a  year,  however,  the 
idea  of  a  Negro  being  in  the  seminary  began  to  be  lost 
sight  of,  the  students  beginning  to  accept  the  situation, 
and  take  it  as  a  matter  of  course.  But  just  as  every- 


1 74  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

body  was  forgetting  about  it,  renewed  interest  was  ex- 
cited on  the  subject  by  the  sudden  appearance  upon  the 
scene  of  another  Negro,  who  had  come  to  enter  the 
seminary.  Walking  out  with  one  of  the  students,  short- 
ly after  this  young  Negro  arrived,  we  were  accosted 
thus.  "Mr.  Anderson,  there's  another  one  come,  isn't 
there?"  But  as  the  students  were  coming  in  on  every 
train,  returning  from  their  vacation,  or  new  students 
were  coming  in  daily  to  connect  themselves  with  the 
seminary  for  the  first  time,  we  gave  our  companion  a 
very  evasive  answer.  "Oh  there's  more  than  another," 
we  said,  "they  are  coming  in  on  every  train."  "Yes,  yes 
that  is  true,"  he  answered,  "I  mean  there  is  another  of 
your  people  come  in  to  join  the  Seminary."  "Oh,  yes," 
we  said,  "there  is  a  colored  gentleman  here  from  Wash- 
ington, a  graduate  of  Howard  University,  by  the  name 
of  Hugh  M.  Biro\vne,who  has  come  to  join  the  seminary." 
Some  three  weeks  after  this  we  were  walking  with  an- 
other classmate,  when  he  remarked,  "There's  another 
one  come,  I  see,  Mr.  Anderson."  "O'h  yes"  we  said, 
"the  juniors  are  certainly  going  to  have  a  large  class, 
judging  from  the  way  they  are  coming  in."  "Oh,  I  mean," 
he  said,  "that  another  colored  student  has  come  to  join 
the  seminary."  "Oh,  I  understand,"  we  said,  "yes,  Mr. 
Francis  J.  Grimkie,  of  South  Carolina,  a  graduate  of 
Lincoln  University  has  come,  and  he  has  a  room  as- 
signed him  in  the  old  seminary."  The  next  fall  at  the 
beginning  of  our  senior  year,  another  colored  student 
came  from  the  South,  a  graduate  of  Biddle  University, 
by  the  name  of  Gulp.  He  was  tall,  and  angular,  and  as 
black  as  the  hinges  of  midnight.  So  black,  in  fact,  that 
all  that  could  be  seen  of  him,  on  a  dark  night,  was  a 
black  shiny  streak,  as  he  passed  along.  Some  time 
after  this  colored  gentleman  appeared  on  the  scene,  we 
were  walking  out  with  a  friend  when  he  suddenly  ex- 
claimed, at  the  same  time  slapping  us  on  the  shoulder, 
"Mr  Anderson,  there's  another  one  come,  and  he  is  the 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO,  175 

blackest  man,  that  I  ever  saw."  This  was  too  much  for 
our  over-exuberant  spirits,  and  we  exploded,  and  for  a 
square  we  had  to  hold  our  sides  with  laughter.  We 
afterwards  became  very  intimately  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Gulp,  and  when  we  wanted  to  tease  him,  we  would  say 
"Gulp,  what  made  you  so  black,  you  are  the  blackest 
man  that  I  ever  saw."  He  knew  the  joke,  and  enjoyed 
it  as  richly  as  we. 

THE  NEGRO  STUDENT  AT  PRINCETON  COLLEGE. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  seminary  studies,  we  availed 
ourselves  of  the  privilege,  granted  by  the  college  to  semi- 
nary students  to  take  lectures  in  any  special  course  in 
that  institution,  consequently  we  took  lectures  in  the 
history  of  philosophy  and  psychology  under  Dr.  Mc- 
Cosh.  Mr.  Browne  and  Grimkie,  took  lectures  in  the 
college  also,  under  Dr.  McCosh.  But  when  Gulp  walk- 
ed in  the  class  room  with  his  book  under  his  arm,  it 
was  too  much,  for  the  young  bourbons  of  the  South. 
They  had  been  able  to  stand  black,  and  blacker,  but 
when  the  blackest  came  into  their  classic  halls,  they 
bolted.  They  waited  upon  "Jimmie"  as  Dr.  McCosh 
was  familiarly  called  and  threatened  that  unless  the 
Negro  was  excluded  from  the  class  room  they  would 
leave  the  institution. 

DR.  McCosn's   NOBLE   STAND. 

But  they  had  mistaken  their  man.  They  had  forgot- 
ten, if  they  had  ever  read,  Dr.  McCosh's  inaugural  ad- 
dress, in  which  he  said  that  while  he  would  be  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  its  doors  should  be 
open  to  all  nationalities,  hence  he  gave  them  to  under- 
stand that  while  he  would  be  sorry  to  have  them  leave, 
still  if  their  staying  would  depend  on  the  expulsion  of 
the  Negro  they  would  have  to  go,  for  under  no  circum- 
stances would  he  exclude  the  Negro  from  his  class  so 
long  as  he  wanted  to  attend.  Finding  that  he  would  not 


176  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

yield  to  their  prejudice,  they  boycotted  his  class,  and 
thought  by  this  means  they  would  compel  the  Negro's 
expulsion. 

In  the  meantime  pressure  was  being  brought  upon 
Mr.  Gulp,  the  Negro  student,  to  induce  him  to  re- 
main away  from  the  college,  at  least  until  the  excitement 
died  out.  His  colored  friends  hearing  of  it,  had  a  con- 
ference and  decided  that  if  he,  Gulp,  would  be  bought 
off,  that  he  should  be  run  out  of  town,  which  decision 
was  communicated  to  him.  This  heroic  action  on  the 
part  of  his  friends  strengthened  his  nerve,  and  he  con- 
tinued to  attend  the  lectures. 

The  Southern  students,  finding  that  neither  their 
threats,  nor  boycott  was  of  any  avail  in  excluding  the 
Negro,  left  for  their  homes.  But  it  was  not  long  before 
their  parents  petitioned  to  have  them  taken  back.  They 
were  given  to  understand,  that  they  had  left  of  their 
own  free  will,  and  they  might  return  if  they  wished,  but 
the  Negro  would  not  be  excluded.  This  settled  it,  suf- 
fice it  to  say,  nearly  all  of  these  students  returned,  and 
took  their  places  in  their  class,  with  the  Negro.  Here 
is  an  example  of  what  one  man  can  do,  who  will  take 
his  stand  firmly  on  the  side  of  truth  and  principle. 
Princeton  University  has  been  a  better,  stronger  and 
more  popular  institution  from  that  time. 


' 


DR.  CAROLINE    V.    ANDERSON, 

The  wife  of  Rev.  Matthew  Anderson 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

ENTERED  UPON  His  LIFE'S  WORK.     WRITING  FOR  THE 
AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION. 

After  our  graduation  at  Princeton  we  spent  three 
months  in  the  office  of  the  American  Missionary  Asso- 
ciation, in  New  York  City,  by  whom  we  were  employed 
to  write  an  outline  history  of  their  Mendian  work,  West 
Africa,  to  which  we  have  already  referred  in  these  pages. 

There  is  but  one  circumstance  in  reference  to  our  ex- 
perience in  New  York  to  which  we  will  refer,  of  which 
no  mention  has  been  made.  We  would  remark  in  the 
first  place,  that  the  chief  reason  why  we  were  asked  to 
write  this  outline  history,  was  the  hope  that  we  would 
become  so  thoroughly  saturated  with  the  subject  of  Af- 
rica and  the  Mendian  work,  that  we  would  feel  com- 
pelled to  go  as  a  missionary,  under  the  Association.  For 
some  reason,  unknown  to  ourselves,  the  secretaries  of 
this  Association  (Strieby  and  Pike)  were  led  to  believe 
that  we  were  designed  by  God  for  the  African  work,  and 
the  Mendian  field  in  particular,  and  when  they  invited  us 
to  take  charge  of  their  missionary  operations  in  that  field 
they  were  not  willing  to  take  "no"  for  an  answer. 

We  will  never  forget  the  surprise  which  their  letter, 
inviting  us  to  this  work,  as  we  were  about  to  graduate  at 
Princeton,  gave  us;  and  also  pain,  because  we  never  had 
the  least  thought  nor  desire  to  go  to  Africa  as  a  mission- 
ary. In  fact,  we  had  always  been  prejudiced  against  the 
country  and  the  missionary  operations  as  carried  on 
there  by  the  Boards  in  this  country.  But,  strange  to  say, 
though  we  expressed  our  feelings  freely  and  openly,  we 
were  being  constantly  urged  to  go  there  as  a  missionary. 
Those  who  seemed  to  know  us  the  best  were  emphatic  in 
12  J77 


1 78  PRESS  YTERIANISM, 

saying  that  we  were  by  nature  constituted  for  that  field. 
But  we  always  had  a  will  of  our  own,  and  we  say,  being 
prejudiced  against  the  field,  no  inducement  could  get  us 
to  consent  to  go. 

But  the  constant  urgency,  on  the  part  of  intelligent 
and  godly  friends,  to  go  to  Africa  gave  us  pain,  because 
it  did  seem  at  times  as  if  we  were  contending  against 
God,  fleeing,  it  would  seem,  to  Tarshish  when  the  Lord 
would  have  us  go  to  Nineveh.  This  was  the  way  we  felt 
when  we  were  so  unexpectedly  invited  to  go  to  Africa  by 
the  American  Missionary  Association.  And  we  well  re- 
member 'how  heartily  some  of  the  students  laughed,  for 
we  had  been  praying  for  a  call.  But,  we  reasoned,  if 
God  wanted  us  to  go  to  Africa  He  would  incline  our 
hearts;  on  the  contrary  we  had  no  desire  to  go  what- 
ever; besides,  we  had  been  preparing  all  our  life  for  the 
American  Africa,  which  we  felt  was  needing  us  quite  as 
much,  if  not,  in  some  respects,  more  than  Africa  in  the 
dark  continent. 

This  was  the  argument  that  we  used  to  the  secretaries 
in  our  reply  to  their  letter  of  invitation.  And  when  they 
came  to  Princeton,  as  they  afterwards  did,  and  spent 
three  hours  in  our  room  trying  to  persuade  us  to  consent 
to  go,  they  proposed,  as  a  last  resort  to  induce  us  to  go, 
that  we  go  to  New  York  and  write  an  "Outline  His- 
tory" of  their  Mendian  work,  having  elicited  from  us  the 
promise  that  if  we  should  be  convinced  that  it  was  our 
duty  to  go  we  should  not  hesitate  to  go.  They  felt  sure 
that  we  would  be  convinced  by  this  means. 

Their  thought  and  hope  were,  that  we  would  become 
so  filled  and  saturated  with  Africa  from  the  reading  of 
the  letters  from  missionaries  on  the  field,  reports  and 
papers  that  we  would  be  obliged  to  go. 

Never  did  we  enter  upon  any  work  more  enthusias- 
tically than  we  did  this.  We  read  and  wrote  with  an 
avidity  and  a  relish,  such  as  we  had  never  experienced 
before. 


RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  179 

We  literally  devoured  everything  we  could  find  in  the 
Office  of  the  Association  on  the  African  work.The  whole 
history  of  their  Mendian  work,  from  its  inception,  when 
the  Amistad  captives,  who  had  risen  in  mutiny,  under 
their  leader,  Sinque,  against  their  Spanish  captors,  in 
1842,  and  their  return,  to  Africa,  until  the  time  of  our 
writing  in  the  summer  of  1877,  had  been  carefully  gone 
over  and  chronologically  noted  by  us. 

We  worked  late  and  early,  and  we  feel  satisfied,  that 
not  an  item  of  interest  escaped  our  notice,  and  a  place 
in  our  notes.  Among  the  items  of  interest  was  one, 
which  had  taken  place  at  the  Brooklyn  Tabernacle,  on 
the  occasion  of  a  farewell  meeting  to  a  number  of  mis- 
sionaries, who  were  about  to  sail  to  the  Mendi  Mission. 

MR.  WILLIAM   C.  BROWN. 

In  the  audience  was  a  young  man,  the  son  of  a  slave 
holder,  who  became  so  very  much  impressed  with  the 
ceremonies,  that  he  offered  himself  there  and  then  to 
go  to  Africa  as  a  Missionary.  The  young  man's  name 
was  William  C.  Brown.  He  was  at  once  accepted,  and 
sent  with  the  missionaries  then  about  to  embark.  We 
followed  this  young  man's  career  with  the  greatest  inter- 
est; everything  we  could  find  relating  to  him  and  his 
work  in  Africa  was  carefully  noted.  His  work  seemed 
to  give  the  greatest  satisfaction,  judging  from  the  kindly 
manner  in  which  he  was  spoken  of  by  the  missionaries 
in  their  letters  to  the  association,  while  his  own  letters 
were  just  bubbling  over  with  interest  and  religious  en- 
thusiasm. 

But  all  at  once  there  was  a  break,  not  a  letter  could 
be  secured  in  the  office  about  him,  either  from  himself, 
or  from  any  of  the  missionaries.  We  inquired  the  cause 
of  the  break,  but  no  one  seemed  able  to  give  us  light 
on  the  subject.  We  were  wild  to  know  the  cause.  We 
could  not  go  on  with  the  outline  because  of  this  missing 
link  in  the  chain  of  Mendian  history.  For  a  week  we 


1 80  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

searched  the  records,  to  find  this  broken  link  or  lost 
cord.  We  searched  until  we  were  almost  ready  to  give 
up  in  despair. 

VISIT  OF  PROF.  WM.  S.  SCARBOROUGH. 

In  the  meantime  we  had  a  visit  from  Prof.  Wm.  S. 
Scarborough,  now  of  Wilberforce  University,  and  who 
had  been  a  schoolmate  at  Oberlin.  He  was  anxious  to 
see,  the  notorious  Five  Points,  New  York,  of  which  he 
had  heard  so  much,  and  to  accommodate  him  late  one 
afternoon  we  took  him  on  a  tour  through  the  noted  dis- 
trict. We  continued  walking  until  in  the  night,  com- 
paring notes,  and  laying  plans  for  the  future.  Passing 
a  mission  where  a  meeting  was  in  progress,  we  con- 
cluded we  would  go  in  for  a  few  minutes. 

Soon  after  we  were  seated,  a  little  man  got  up,  and 
commenced  giving  his  experiences,  among  them  his  ex- 
periences in  Africa,  the  mention  of  his  having  been  in 
Africa  thrilled  us  through  and  through.  Can  it  be  pos- 
sible, we  said  to  ourselves,  that  this  is  the  person  we  are 
seeking?  We  became  so  excited  that  we  could  hardly 
retain  ourselves  until  the  meeting  was  out.  As  soon  as 
the  meeting  was  over  we  rushed  up  to  him  and  said: 
"You  will  please  excuse  me,  but  I  would  be  happy  to 
know  your  name."  "William  C.  Brown,"  he  answered, 
without  a  word.  We  at  once  grasped  him  by  the  hand 
and  said:  "My  dear  Mr.  Brown,  I  am  delighted  to  find 
you;  for  a  week  I  have  been  searching  for  you." 
"Searching  for  me;  what  for?  Who  are  you?"  We  then 
told  him  who  we  were — what  we  were  doing  in  New 
York,  how  impressed  we  were  with  the  account  of  him 
having  given  himself  up  to  go  as  a  missionary  to  Africa, 
and  with  his  letters  from  the  field  to  the  Association. 
But  there  was  a  sudden  break,  and  we  have  not  been  able 
to  find  any  clue  of  him  from  that  time  until  the  present 
moment.  He  then  opened  up  to  us  a  chapter  which  did 
not  seem  to  be  among  the  archives  of  the  office. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  181 

He  had  gone  to  Africa,  he  said,  filled  with  religious 
zeal  and  enthusiasm.  No  missionary  could  have  taken 
a  greater  interest  in  the  work  than  he.  While  on  a  visit 
to  Capetown,  Sierre  Leone,  he  became  acquainted  with  a 
Sierre  Leone  lady,  who  had  been  finely  educated  in  Eng- 
land, and  at  first  sight  he  fell  in  love  with  her.  In  the 
course  of  time  he  married  her.  For  this  act  of  crime(?) 
the  missionaries  snubbed  him,  and  wrote  severe  criticisms 
to  the  home  Board  about  him.  Still,  he  said,  he  felt  the 
Board  would  sustain  him  when  they  knew  the  facts  as 
they  were,  for  he  could  not  work  himself  up  to  believe, 
he  said,  that  a  Missionary  Board,  or  an  Association  could 
be  so  blinded  with  color  prejudice  as  to  make  its  in- 
fluence operative  6,000  miles  from  home,  and  that,  too, 
among  a  people  in  whom  they  professed  to  be  inter- 
ested. Acting  upon  this  belief  he  came  home  on  a  va- 
cation, bringing  his  wife. 

They  stopped  at  the  Astor  House,  New  York  city. 
But,  he  said,  he  soon  found  that  the  authorities  in  the 
office  of  the  Association  were  as  bitterly  opposed  to  him 
for  this  as  were  the  missionaries  in  the  field.  They 
gave  him  no  countenance  whatever.  The  only  man  who 
had  the  Christian  manhood  and  grace  to  receive  him 
and  treat  him  as  a  gentleman  was  Lewis  Tappan,  who 
entertained  him  and  his  wife  at  his  house. 

After  this  wonderful  revelation  and  story  we  arranged 
to  have  him  meet  us  at  the  office  of  the  Association  the 
next  day  at  10  o'clock.  Precisely  at  10  o'clock  he 
walked  into  the  office,  and  taking  him  up  to  Secretary 

S we  said:  "Dr.  S —  — ,  !here  is  the  man  we  have 

been  searching  for  for  more  than  a  week."  They  shook 
hands  formally,  the  Doctor  being  greatly  surprised  and 
bewildered  to  know  how  and  where  we  came  across  him. 

PREJUDICE  REBUKED. 

"I  am  not  surprised,  Dr.  S —  — ,"  he  said,  "that  I  was 
lost  to  you,  after  the  manner  I  was  treated  by  your  mis- 


1 82  PRESJ5  YTERIANISM. 

sionaries,  and  your  Association,  for  no  other  sin  than  that 
I  saw  proper  to  marry  an  intelligent,  refined  Christian 
Negro  lady.  For  this  crime  I  was  slighted  by  your 
missionaries  in  Africa  and  by  your  officials  at  home." 

We  were  really  sorry  when  we  saw  the  intense  earnest- 
ness of  the  man,  and  the  evident  mortification  of  our 

friend  Dr.  S ,  but  we  could  not  help  but  feel  then, 

and  we  have  felt  ever  since,  that  the  hand  of  the  Lord 
was  in  it  all,  and  that  we  did  nothing  more  than  our  duty, 
though  it  mortified  the  officials  of  a  great  missionary  as- 
sociation. We  would  remark  that  we  would  be  afraid 
to  put  over  our  signature  this  wonderful  discovery  if  Dr. 
Scarborough,  Professor  of  Greek  in  Wilberforce 
University,  were  not  living.  But  since  he  is  living,  and 
ready  to  vouch  as  to  the  correctness  of  this  statement, 
we  put  it  in.  This  revelation  did  not  encourage  us  to  go 
as  a  missionary  to  Africa,  though  our  own  research  rad- 
ically changed  our  views  in  regard  to  Africa  and  its 
peoples.  Before  entering  upon  this  work  we  had  an 
erroneous  opinion  of  this  whole  African  subject.  In  our 
mind  there  was  no  land  or  people  lower,  more 
debased,  nearer  the  brute,  and  with  slighter  possibilities 
to  rise  than  the  people  of  Africa.  But  after  three 
months'  careful  study  of  the  land  and  its  peoples  it  was 
to  us  the  most  wonderful  land,  physically,  on  the  earth, 
and  its  people,  though  degraded  at  present,  were  a  won- 
derful people  naturally,  and  that  there  were  before  them 
the  greatest  possibilities. 

WENT  TO  NEW  HAVEN. 

After  finishing  writing  in  New  York,  we  went  to 
New  Haven,  Connecticut,  and  for  two  years  supplied  the 
Temple  Street  Congregational  Church,  in  the  meantime 
taking  a  special  course  at  the  Yale  Divinity  School. 
When  we  left  New  Haven,  as  it  has  been  shown,  it  was 
to  take  hold  of  mission  work  in  the  South.  Hence  our 
coming  to  Philadelphia  and  taking  hold  of  mission  work 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  183 

here  was  entirely  unseen  and  unsought  by  us.  Indeed 
we  looked  upon  our  whole  course  of  preparation  for  the 
ministry  until  the  time  we  came  to  take  charge  of  the 
mission  work  in  Philadelphia,  and  all  our  work,  both  in 
the  mission  and  in  the  church  to  the  present  time,  as 
being  the  direct  leading  by  the  hand  of  Providence. 

There  is  nothing  more  evident  to  us  than  that  the 
Berean  Church,  from  its  foundation  to  its  topmost  stone, 
is  in  answer  to  prayer.  There  have  been  so  many  things 
brought  about,  so  many  unexpected  friends  raised  up, 
that  we  can  account  for  them  in  no  other  way  than  that 
God,  for  some  beneficent  purpose  and  end,  has  taken  hold 
especially  of  the  Berean  Church;  and  though  there  have 
not  been  as  yet  marked  spiritual  results,  enough  has 
been  accomplished  and  sufficient  forces  are  at  work  to 
assure  great  and  glorious  results  in  the  future. 

THE  HAND  OF  THE  LORD. 

We  have  said  the  hand  of  the  Lord  has  been  with  us 
in  all  our  pastoral  labors,  from  the  time  we  left  home  as 
a  boy  up  to  the  present  time.  This  can  be  seen  at  a 
glance  on  taking  a  retrospective  view  of  our  past  course. 
For  example,  had  we  not  commenced  our  schooling  in 
the  little  school  in  Ohio,  where  we  found  a  sympathetic 
feeling  with  the  principles  which  had  been  implanted 
within  us  by  inheritance  and  parental  instruction,  we 
would  not  have  become  fixed  in  those  principles  which 
have  been  our  sheet  anchor  during  all  these  years. 
Again,  it  was  necessary  to  begin  at  this  school  in  order 
to  be  prepared  to  go  to  Oberlin.  Had  we  gone  to 
Oberlin  at  first,  with  our  excitable  and  sensitive  tem- 
perament, we  would  certainly  have  failed.  But  after 
having  gone  to  Iberia  we  were  prepared  for  the  slights, 
the  indifferences,  the  want  of  personal  interest,  which 
every  student  experiences  in  an  institution  which  is  so 
largely  attended  as  Oberlin.  And  yet  it  was  very  nec- 
essary for  us  to  have  this  experience,  in  order  to 


1 84  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

fit  and  prepare  us  for  the  greater  slights  and  indiffer- 
ences of  the  world.  Proud  of  what  we  regarded  as  our 
pristine  virtues,  entertaining  false  views  as  to  propriety, 
God  had  us  go  out  on  a  lecturing  tour  in  order  to  mor- 
tify our  pride,  by  breaking  us  over  the  wheel  of  humilia- 
tion ;  at  the  same  time  He  opened  up  a  chapter  of  human 
callousness  or  unmercifulness,  which  has  been  to 
us  invaluable.  We  were  led  to  Pittsburg  and  the 
Western  Theological  Seminary,  not  that  we  were 
to  take  ouir  course  in  Theology  there,  but  to 
come  in  contact  with  those  who  would  assist  us  in 
meeting  our  Oberlin  indebtedness.  We  had  no  thought 
when  we  left  Oberlin  for  Pittsburg  that  we  would  find 
any  encouragement  there  in  reference  to  money  to  pay 
our  college  debts.  But  see  how  wonderfully  the  money 
was  raised,  and  that  without  any  effort  on  our  part.  We 
happened  to  relate  our  burden  in  regard  to  this  debt, 
and  the  doubt  we  entertained  whether  we  ought  to 
commence  the  study  of  theology  until  we  paid  it  off. 
In  less  than  twenty-four  hours  from  the  time  of  this  in- 
terview, the  pledge  was  secured  from  the  Trustees  of  the 
Avery  fund  for  one-half  of  the  debt,  and  that,  too, 
wholly  unexpected  on  our  part,  until  the  pledge  was 
handed  us  by  our  cousin,  Hezekiah  Anderson.  No 
sooner  was  this  pledge  secured  than  the  way  was  opened 
up  for  us  to  go  to  Princeton,  the  seminary  which  we  long 
had  our  hearts  set  upon  to  attend.  But  we  had  no 
money  to  pay  our  fare  further  than  Harrisburg. 

REV.  THOMAS   H.  ROBINSON,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

Arriving  at  Harrisburg  we  called  on  Dr.  Thomas  H. 
Robinson,  pastor  of  the  Market  Square  Presbyterian 
Church,  of  that  city.  As  we  said  before,  the  most  we  ex- 
pected was  to  secure  his  influence  to  get  us  a  ticket  over 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  to  Princeton.  But  God  had 
a  greater  blessing  in  store  for  us.  Dr.  Robinson  not 
only  secured  a  ticket  for  us  and  gave  us  twenty  dollars 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  185 

with  which  to  get  what  incidentals  we  needed  to  com- 
mence our  studies  at  Princeton,  but  beyond  and  above 
all,  he  took  upon  himself  the  burden  of  our  indebtedness 
at  Oberlin,  relieving  us  not  only  of  the  task  of  raising 
the  required  amount  in  order  to  secure  the  Avery  pledge, 
but  of  all  responsibility  of  the  debt,  even  as  to  the  pay- 
ing it  off  after  the  money  was  raised.  We  went  to 
Princeton,  that  Gibraltar  of  Orthodoxy.  We  had  the 
honor  of  sitting  at  the  feet  of  those  giants  of  intellectual 
and  moral  strength,  Drs.  Charles  Hodge  and  James  Mc- 
Cosh,  and  felt  the  thrill  of  joy  and  satisfaction  produced 
by  the  thought  of  being  at  the  very  fountain  head  of 
Presbyterianism,  our  cherished  faith. 

SIDE   LIGHTS  WHICH   REVEAL  A  WRONG    STATE  OF  THINGS 
AT  OLD  PRINCETON. 

And  yet  there  were  side  lights  which  revealed  a  state 
of  spiritual  slavery  in  old  Princeton  most  painful  to  wit- 
ness, the  knowledge  of  which  has  been  most  useful  to  us 
in  the  ministry  of  the  Word.  For  example,  the  effort  to 
evade  the  assignment  of  rooms  in  the  dormitories  to 
Negro  students;  and  the  attempt  to  frighten  a  Negro 
student  from  attending  lectures  under  Dr.  McCosh,  in 
order  to  cater  to  the  prejudice  of  some  white  bourbons 
from  the  South. 

The  hand  of  the  Lord  is  again  seen  in  leading  us  to 
New  York,  by  which  we  were  shown  how  greatly  af- 
fected everything  in  the  United  States  has  been  by 
slavery,  even  the  Missionary  Boards,  and  that  "truth 
crushed  to  the  earth  will  rise  again."  No  greater  mani- 
festation of  the  directing  hand  of  Providence  can  be 
shown  than  the  means  which  led1  to  the  discovery  of  Mr. 
Brown.  For  there  was  not  a  person  who  was  in  any 
way  connected  with  the  American  Missionary  Associa- 
tion that  knew  he  was  in  this  country. 

We  were  led  to  New  Haven  to  supply  the  old  fossilized 
church,  which  had  the  form  of  godliness,  but  was  dead. 


1 86  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

We  entered  upon  our  work  there  with  our  usual  zeal, 
but  we  soon  discovered  that  there  was  something  wrong. 
Where  it  was  and  what  it  was  we  were  for  some  time  at  a 
loss  to  tell,  but  it  was  finally  revealed  that  this  one,  and 
that  one,  who  was  influential  in  the  church,  was  living  in 
secret  sin  and  hypocrisy,  praying  for  the  success  of  the 
church  and  its  pastor,  and  at  the  same  time  taking  a 
course  which  was  gradually  but  surely  bringing  leanness 
and  death  upon  the  church. 

When  we  left  New  Haven  it  was  ostensibly  to  com- 
mence missionary  work  in  the  South;  but  having  our 
attention  called  to  the  need  of  mission  work  in  Phila- 
delphia by  Dr.  Reeve,  with  whom  we  stopped  as  we 
were  passing  through  the  city,  we  concluded,  after  due 
consideration,  to  abandon  our  Southern  plans  and  take 
hold  of  this  work,  where  a  commencement  had  been 
made  by  the  Lombard  Street  Central  Presbyterian 
Church,  of  which  Dr.  Reeve  was,  and  is  still,  the  honored 
pastor. 

Accordingly  on  the  I4th  of  October,  1879,  we  entered 
upon  the  mission  work  in  Philadelphia,  in  which  field 
we  have  been  at  work  ever  since,  having  just  completed 
our  seventeenth  year  of  continuous  service.  The  results 
of  our  labors  during  these  17  years  speak  for  themselves. 
Seventeen  years  ago  there  was  neither  church  organiza- 
tion nor  building.  Now  we  have  a  young,  vigorous  or- 
ganization, consisting  of  over  two  hundred  members  of 
the  church  and  congregation,  and  property  valued  at 
over  seventy-five  thousand  dollars.  This  together  with 
the  different  organizations  which  are  growing  gradually 
more  and  more  effective  goes  to  show,  that  the  Lord  has 
been  preparing  us  all  these  years  for  this  special  work. 
We  look  at  the  work  as  it  was  when  we  first  took  charge 
and  what  it  is  now,  and  we  impulsively  exclaim,  "The 
hand  of  the  Lord  hath  wrought  this." 

But  we  would  remark  that  whatever  success  may  have 
attended  our  labors  we  attribute  it  wholly  under  God 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  187 

as  the  result  of  having  followed  certain  rules  which  we 
had  formulated  for  our  regulation  and  guidance  in  life. 

THE   RULES  WE  FOLLOWED. 

First.  Never  to  undertake  anything  without  first 
having  studied  it  in  all  its  different  phases,  with  the 
Spirit's  guidance,  and  after  seeing  it  in  all  its  relations, 
and  there  be  given  a  reasonable  assurance  of  success  to 
undertake  it. 

Second.  After  having  carefully  considered  the  sub- 
ject and  convinced  that  the  work  in  question  should  be 
undertaken,  not  to  allow  any  adverse  influences  what- 
ever to  divert  us  from  our  purpose. 

Third.  In  presenting  the  work  to  others,  never  exag- 
gerate it  with  the  hope  of  gaining  friends,  or  money,  to 
assist  in  carrying  it  on,  but  to  show  it  in  its  true  light, 
even  though  the  truth  for  the  time  being  would  tend  to 
prejudice  against  the  work. 

Fourth.  When  convinced  that  the  work  is  needed,  and 
that  it  is  the  will  of  Providence  that  we  should  under- 
take it,  to  make  use  of  all  the  means  at  our  command 
temporal,  intellectual  and  spiritual,  to  secure  its  suc- 
cess. 

Fifth.  In  all  our  labors  to  keep  clearly  before  us  not 
only  the  present,  but  the  future  wants  of  the  people  and 
to  work  accordingly,  even  though  the  people  themselves 
do  not  see  that  they  are  needing  such  work. 

Sixth.  That  we  be  guided  and  regulated  by  the  great 
and  immortal  principles  of  divine  truth,  rather  than  by 
sentiment,  which  knows  no  creed,  race  or  color,  and 
which  regards  all  men  alike  redeemed  by  one  common 
Lord  and  Master,  Jesus  Christ.  That  while  by  the  acci- 
dents of  birth  and  the  unholy  sentiment  of  the  country, 
our  labors  are  confined  principally  to  the  people  of  the 
colored  race,  we  should  nevertheless  regard  ourselves, 
ministers  of  Christ,  as  embracing  a  wider  sphere  of 
labor,  since  in  God's  sight  there  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek, 


1 88  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

barbarian  nor  Scythian,  bond  nor  free,  but  all  related  by 
ties  of  consanguinity,  having  sprung  from  common  pa- 
rents. 

Seventh.  That  we  ever  hold  saoredi  the  great  cardinal 
truths  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of 
man,  and  make  them  the  guiding  star  of  our  life  work  in 
all  of  our  d'ealings  toward  our  fellowmen. 

Eighth.  That  we  be  perfectly  frank  and  honest  in  all 
our  work,  never  to  misrepresent  it  for  the  sake  of  gain, 
take  advantage  of  the  ignorant,  but  at  all  times  try  and 
carry  out  the  principles  of  the  golden  rule. 

Ninth.  That  we  fear  no  man,  nor  call  any  man  master, 
but  be  kindly  affectioned  towards  all  men,  and  under  no 
circumstances  to  allow  an  insult  to  pass  unresented 
which  was  intended  to  belittle  our  manhood,  not  because 
of  ourselves  personally,  but  because  of  the  race  with 
which  we  are  identified,  and  which  to  stigmatize  would 
be  the  real  object  of  the  insult. 

Tenth.  That  we  listen  to  the  criticisms  and  advice  of 
friends,  and  acknowledge  our  failures  and  faults,  and  be 
ever  ready  to  apologize  to  others  for  injuries  done  them 
by  us. 

These  ten  rules,  though  unwritten,  embrace  the  prin- 
ciples which  have  regulated  us  in  all  our  work  up  to  the 
present  time,  and  to  which  we  attribute  whatever  suc- 
cess may  have  attended  our  labors. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

RESUME  OF  SEVENTEEN  YEARS'  WORK  IN  PHILADELPHIA. 

It  has  been  seventeen  years  since  we  entered  the 
work  of  the  Berean  Church  in  this  city,  and  eighteen 
years  since  our  ordination  to  the  ministry,  and  yet  we 
can  conscientiously  say  that  while  we  have  erred  fre- 
quently in  judgment  we  have  never  knowingly  taken 
advantage  of  a  single  individual,  nor  misrepresented  in 
an  iota  the  work  in  which  we  are  engaged  for  the  sake 
of  gain,  or  to  excite  admiration  in  us  as  a  worker. 
Friends  may  have  differed  with  us  as  to  our  methods  and 
plans,  and  they  may  have  been  disposed  to  think  us 
visionary  or  ephemeral  in  judgment,  yet  no  one  who 
knows  us  could  conscientiously  accuse  us  of  dishonesty 
or  of  being  actuated  by  selfish  or  mercenary  motives. 

MOTIVES. 

And  there  has  been  nothing  which  has  been  to  us  a 
greater  source  of  pleasure  than  this  fact.  While  on  the 
other  hand  we  have  experienced  no  little  pain  from  the 
implication  on  the  part  of  some,  who  not  knowing  us 
but  judging  us  from  the  standpoint  of  the  world,  thought 
that  our  efforts  and  aims  were  selfish  or  mercenary,  when 
the  fact  is,  if  we  knew  ourselves  at  all,  our  aim  and  ef- 
fort has  been  to  employ  all  the  means  at  our  command 
to  assist  in  raising  the  standard  of  the  colored  people  of 
this  city  and  land  to  a  higher  plane. 

All  that  we  have  done  and  are  doing,  and  have  within 
our  hearts  to  do,  is  to  advance  this  end;  consequently  we 
have  taken  but  little  thought  of  our  present  or  future 
welfare,  so  far  as  making  any  substantial  provision  for 
the  future  maintenance  of  ourself  and  family  are  con- 
cerned. 

189 


190  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

The  fact  is  that  while  we  have  secured  for  the  church 
property  which  is  valued  at  from  $75,000  to  $100,000, 
and  which  is  growing  more  valuable  each  year,  we  have 
nothing  ourselves;  we  do  not  possess  a  foot  of  land  or 
property  of  any  kind,  and  very  often  we  find  ourselves 
in  very  embarrassing  circumstances  financially. 

We  speak  of  this  not  to  awaken  sympathy,  or  to  in- 
duce benevolent  friends  to  contribute  toward  our  neces- 
sities, but  to  correct  a  false  impression  which  is  enter- 
tained by  some  good  and  well-meaning  friends,  namely, 
that  we  are  well  provided  with  this  world's  goods,  when 
in  reality  we  have  hardly  enough  to  meet  our  barest 
necessities ;  not  that  our  salary  is  so  small  that  we  cannot 
live  upon  it,  but  because  we  are  obliged  to  draw  upon  it 
to  assist  in  meeting  the  running  expenses  of  the  church. 

While  engaged  in  paying  off  the  debt  on  the  property 
we  have  not  been  able  to  increase  the  numerical  and 
financial  strength  of  the  organization.  Our  theory  has 
been  that  inasmuch  as  the  people  were  all  poor,  we 
should  first  go  forward  and  secure  the  church  and  par- 
sonage and  pay  for  them,  after  which  turn  our  attention 
to  the  gathering  in  of  the  people,  and  in  educating  them 
along  the  different  church  lines. 

Being  compelled  to  do  this  work  almost  single-handed 
and  alone,  we  have  been  confined  ever  since  we  com- 
menced, in  1881,  up  to  the  present.  But  the  running  ex- 
penses are  just  the  same  as  if  the  congregation  were 
large,  hence  we  have  been  compelled  to  use  money  to 
meet  these  expenses  which  was  given  for  our  personal 
necessities.  It  is  on  this  account  that  we  have  been  for 
the  most  part  straightened  and  in  debt ;  our  position  has 
been,  and  is  yet,  trying  in  the  extreme.  It  has  been  a 
veritable  standing  between  a  Scylla  and  Charybdis  when 
there  is  considered  the  attitude  of  many  of  the  white 
and  colored  people  towards  our  work.  The  one  looking 
with  gangrenous  eyes  towards  the  place,  the  result  of  their 
preconceived  notions  and  prejudices  towards  the  Negro; 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  191 

the  other  jealous  and  envious  over  what  looks  to  them 
to  be  peculiar  advantages  vouchsafed  to  us  not  granted 
to  them,  and  hence,  both  venting  their  vituperations  or 
spleen  upon  us  and  our  work,  though  under  the  mask 
of  professed  interest  and  regret  for  its  apparent  want  of 
numerical  success,  both  of  which  greatly  tends  to  de- 
stroy our  spirit  and  cripple  the  work;  indeed  it  tends  to 
bring  about  the  very  result  which  they  predict,  and  in 
fact  which  would  result,  were  it  not  for  our  determined 
purpose  to  do  faithfully  and  well  the  will  of  Him  whose 
plans  we  have  been  trying  to  carry  out  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  present. 

But  trying,  yea,  even  galling,  as  our  position  is,  we 
would  not  have  had  it  otherwise.  Indeed  we  thank  God 
that  He  has  counted  us  worthy  to  bear  it  for  Him,  for 
the  benefit  which  we  have  derived  personally  from  our 
experience  has  been  incalculable.  We  are  a  better, 
broader  and  stronger  man  every  way  than  we  possibly 
could  have  been  had  we  not  had  this  experience.  Our 
sympathies  are  greater,  our  range  of  vision  wider,  and 
interests  broader.  We  see  things  in  a  different  light  to 
what  we  once  saw  them.  We  understand  what  is  meant 
by  suffering  for  Christ's  sake,  and  living  for  a  principle 
rather  than  for  self;  being  poor  and  yet  infinitely  rich; 
weak  and  yet  having  the  strength  of  omnipotence;  of 
time,  and  yet  having  entered  upon  an  eternal  career. 

Instead  of  our  experience  having  made  us  sour,  cen- 
sorious or  revengeful,  it  has  made  us  benevolent,  sweet 
and  kind.  There  is  not  a  man  or  woman  in  all  the  range 
of  our  acquaintance  whom  we  hate  or  for  whom  we 
would  not  do  an  act  of  kindness.  We  feel  we  can  conscien- 
tiously say  that  we  love  every  person,  and  that  we  look 
upon  every  person  as  our  brother.  And  we  say  this, 
not  boastfully,  or  in  a  braggadocio  spirit,  humbly  in  the 
name  of  Him  who  has  been  leading  us  all  these  years, 
Whose  we  are  and  Whom  we  are  trying  to  serve. 


1 92  PRESJB  YTERIANISM. 

OUR  FRIENDS. 

But  we  feel  that  we  would  not  be  true  to  ourselves, 
if  before  closing  this  personal  narrative  we  did  not  call 
special  attention  to  the  dear  friends  whose  kind  words 
and  generous  acts  made  it  possible  for  the  writer  to  ac- 
complish the  work  that  he  has  been  enabled  to  do  in 
Philadelphia.  There  has  been  a  goodly  coterie  of  these 
friends,  as  has  already  been  shown  in  these  pages.  Some 
are  still  battling  here,  others  have  gone  to  their  reward 
above. 

Among  the  latter  were  some  of  earth's  noblest  men 
and  women,  whose  ear  was  open  to  hear  and  hand  to 
give  to  suffering  humanity  whenever  their  attention  was 
called.  Among  these  were  the  brothers,  Messrs.  Wil- 
liam and  James  Hogg.  These  were  devoted  friends  of  the 
Berean  Church  and  did  much  to  encourage  the  pastor 
in  his  work. 

Also  Mr.  Herbert  Hogg,  this  excellent  young  man  par- 
took richly  of  the  spirit  of  his  parents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jas. 
Hogg,  being  interested  in  charitable  work.  Though 
but  a  mere  youth,  when  we  first  formed  his  acquaintance, 
we  found  his  ear  open  to  hear,  and  his  heart  beating  in 
sympathy  with  us  in  our  work.  Writing  to  us  just  be- 
fore his  last  sickness  he  expressed  the  interest  that  he 
had  in  it,  which  he  said  was  caused  by  hearing 
it  spoken  of  so  kindly  at  home.  Among  his  last  acts 
before  stricken  down  were  to  contribute  fifty  dollars  to- 
wards furnishing  the  church,  also  giving  a  chart  of 
the  books  of  the  Bible  to  the  Sabbath  School;  and 
planting  an  ivy  against  the  front  of  the  church.  We 
never  see  this  ivy  as  it  climbs  the  walls  of  the  Berean 
Church  without  thinking  of  the  triumphant  death  and 
the  now  unspeakable  glory  of  the  giver. 

Judge  Allison,  Joseph  J.  Martin,  whose  last  act  on 
earth  was  to  pledge  twenty-five  dollars  towards  the  Be- 
rean parsonage;  John  Mclnnis,  who  gave  lime  for  the 
building;  Abram  Coats,  Gustavus  Benson,  Mrs.  Gus- 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  193 

tavus  Benson,  David  Thain,  Judge  Peirce,  Samuel  S. 
Huey,  Hamilton  Disston,  Alexander  W'hilden,  Alex- 
ander Crow,  William  Massey,  William  Brockie,  H.  H. 
Houston,  Joseph  Harvey,  James  A.  Freeman,  Dr.  D. 
Hayes  Agnew,  E.  A.  Rollins,  Daniel  D.  Hittner,  who 
contributed  all  the  marble  for  the  front  of  the  church; 
John  Baird,  the  Misses  Faries,  Mrs.  Mary  Disston,  Mrs. 
Robert  Lenox  Kennedy,  Mrs.  Mary  Byard,  and  many 
others  who  have  answered  the  roll  call  above. 

But  of  the  friends  who  remain  none  have  done  more 
to  assist  in  paying  off  the  debt  on  the  property  and  to 
cheer  the  spirits  of  the  writer  than  these,  viz. :  Dr.  Stew- 
art, who  has  been  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season  in 
assisting  the  Berean  Church  and  pastor;  we  cannot  de- 
scribe how  greatly  we  are  indebted  to  this  valuable  friend 
for  counsel,  advice  and  financial  assistance;  Messrs. 
George  S.  Graham  and  Samuel  B.  Huey.  The  former 
our  able  and  honored  District  Attorney,  the  latter  one  of 
our  most  distinguished  and  successful  lawyers.  These 
two  friends  have  rendered  gratuitously  all  our  legal  ad- 
vice, besides  contributing  frequently  towards  the  debt 
on  the  property;  Messrs.  John  H.  Converse  and  William 
P.  Henszey  and  Dr.  Edwin  Williams,  who  have  been 
most  friendly  to  the  writer  and  liberal  towards  his 
church.  Frequently  have  we  gone  to  them  when  we 
were  greatly  embarrassed  financially,  indeed  not  know- 
ing where  to  go  nor  what  to  do,  and  they  have  never 
sent  us  away  empty. 

Let  me  remark  here,  it  may  seem  from  what  has  been 
said  in  these  pages  that  we  imposed  upon  our  friends, 
that  upon  the  least  pressure  for  funds  we  called  upon 
them.  Nothing  could  be  further  from  the  truth.  We 
never  called  upon  these  friends,  Whose  hearts  are  open 
to  almost  every  demand  of  charity,  unless  we  were  driven 
to  the  last  extreme.  And  when  we  were  forced  to  apply 
to  them  it  would  be  with  the  greatest  reluctance  and 
misgiving,  not  so  much  from  the  fear  of  being  refused  as 
13 


1 94  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

from  the  fear  of  the  impression  that  might  be  given  of 
heartlessness  towards  them  on  our  part. 

Messrs.  William  S.  Reyburn,  William  M.  Cramp,  J. 
Renwick  Hogg,  Aaron  Fries,  Thomas  G.  Gayley,  Rob't 
M.  Hogue,  Mrs.  Anna  Coates,  Mrs.  Catharine  Singerly, 
Mrs.  John  Mclnnis,  Miss  Mary  Otto,  Mrs.  Catharine  L. 
Hogg  and  Miss  Emma  Hogg  contributed  most  liberally 
towards  the  debt  on  the  property  of  the  Berean  Church 
and  also  towards  the  support  of  the  pastor  whenever 
there  was  a  demand  for  it.  Regularly  every  Christmas, 
for  a  number  of  years,  Mr.  Reyburn  has  sent  the  writer 
his  check  towards  his  personal  support,  and  in  the  spring 
Mrs.  Catharine  L.  Hogg  and  her  daughters,  their  checks ; 
Miss  Mary  Otto  contributes  annually  towards  the  same, 
and  also  Mr.  J.  Renwick  Hogg,  while  the  other  friends 
stand  ready  to  contribute  as  the  emergency  demands, 
but  they  do  not  bind  themselves  to  any  special  amount. 
But  the  whole  amount  received  in  any  one  year  from 
all  the  friends  combined  has  been  less  than  $200,  which 
is  included  in  the  receipts  of  the  church. 

But  of  the  friends  who  have  been  of  the  most  substan- 
tial assistance  to  the  writer  in  the  work  of  the  Berean 
Church  were  one  who  will  not  permit  her  name  to  be 
used  and  Mr.  John  McGill.  Too  much  cannot  be  said 
in  praise  of  these  friends.  The  interest  which  they  have 
shown  and  spirit  they  have  manifested  all  the  way  along 
almost  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  work  has  been 
most  surprising  and  praiseworthy,  and  which  is  worthy 
of  imitation  by  all  who  are  interested  in  the  welfare  of 
the  poor.  I  know  that  these  friends  will  be  annoyed  at 
this  public  exhibition  of  their  acts,  as  they  shrink  from 
every  public  parade  of  what  they  do  in  this  direction. 
But  we  feel  that  we  would  be  untrue  to  them  if  we  did 
not  make  special  mention  of  their  work  in  the  Berean 
Church. 

In  the  winter  of  1884  and  1885  the  writer  called  upon 
the  husband  of  the  friend  alluded  to  at  his  residence,  and 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  195 

wished  to  know  whether  in  his  judgment  his  wife  could 
be  secured  as  teacher  in  the  Berean  Sabbath  School. 
We  explained  that  there  was  a  great  scarcity  of  teachers 
in  the  school,  and  that  several  of  those  who  were  teach- 
ing were  not  at  all  competent;  that  what  we  wanted 
were  competent  Christian  teachers. 

"Mr.  Anderson,"  he  said,  "my  wife  is  not  strong,  and 
she  could  not  take  upon  herself  the  responsibility  of  a 
Sabbath  School  class;  besides,  if  she  could  teach  at  all 
it  should  be  at  her  own  church.  No,  Mr.  Anderson, 

Mrs. cannot  teach."  As  Mr.  —  -  was  so  very 

much  opposed  to  his  wife  taking  upon  herself  the  re- 
sponsibility of  a  class  in  the  Berean  Sabbath  School,  we 
at  once  dismissed  the  thought  from  our  mind,  especially 
when  we  knew  that  he  was  a  true  friend  both  of  the 
Berean  Church  and  of  the  pastor,  which  he  had  shown  in 
many  ways. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1885  we  were  called  upon  by 

Mrs. herself.  After  talking  about  the  work  for 

some  time,  looking  us  squarely  in  the  face,  she  said: 
"Mr.  Anderson,  you  must  pardon  me  for  the  request  I 
am  about  to  make,  and  if  you  do  not  approve  of  it  please 
do  not  hesitate  to  say  so.  I  want  to  teach  a  class  in 
your  Sabbath  School.  I  do  not  want  to  take  any  other 
person's  class,  or  to  have  a  class  composed  of  scholars 
already  in  the  school,  but  a  class  composed  wholly  of 
new  scholars  whom  I  shall  gather  in.  Of  late  I  have 
been  very  much  interested  in  the  coachmen,  and  would 
be  glad  to  have  a  class  in  your  school  composed  of  them, 
if  you  will  give  me  space." 

We  could  hardly  believe  our  ears,  and  it  was  with  ef- 
fort that  we  were  able  to  reply.  Finally  we  said:  "Mrs. 

,  did  Mr. say  anything  to  you  about  taking 

a  class  in  my  Sabbath  School?"  "Not  anything,"  she 
said.  "Did  he  tell  you  that  I  had  been  to  see  him  about 
your  taking  a  class?"  "No,  not  a  word,"  she  said. 
"Then,"  we  said,  "it  is  of  the  Lord's  directing,  and 


1 96  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

nothing  would  give  me  greater  delight  and  pleasure  than 
to  have  you  take  a  class  in  my  Sabbath  School,  and  I 
do  not  want  you  to  go  out  after  a  class,  either,  but  take 
one  already  formed,  whose  teacher  is  unable  to  go  on 
with  it."  But  she  preferred  to  have  a  class  composed 
of  coachmen,  whom  she  regarded  as  being  very  much 
neglected. 

This  was  on  Monday,  and  she  left  with  the  under- 
standing that  she  would  devote  the  week  in  calling  upon 
coachmen  and  invite  them  to  a  class  the  next  Sabbath. 

While  we   admired   Mrs.   's   earnest   Christian 

spirit  and  zeal,  we  felt  sure  that  we  knew  the  class  re- 
ferred to  better  than  she,  and  this  particular  man,  and  we 
said  if  she  succeeded  in  getting  him  into  a  class  in  one 
week  she  deserved  the  greatest  commendation.  The  un- 
derstanding was  she  would  report  the  results  of  her  visits 
at  the  end  of  the  week. 

On  Saturday  morning  she  again  called,  radiant  over 
her  success.  She  presented  a  list  of  over  a  score  who 
had  promised  most  faithfully  to  be  present  the  next  day, 
the  Sabbath.  We  tried  to  conceal  the  smile,  for  we  well 

knew  they  were  simply  imposing  upon  Mrs.  's 

credulity,  and  that  not  one  of  them  intended  to  be  pres- 
ent. We  ventured  to  suggest  that  she  should  not  be 
disappointed  should  her  class  fail  to  put  in  an  appearance, 
as  there  was  a  class  needing  a  teacher  which  she  could 
have.  But  she  would  not  encourage  the  thought  for  a 
moment  that  they  would  disappoint  her  after  having 
promised  so  faithfully  to  be  present.  All  she  asked,  she 
said,  was  space  for  her  class. 

The  next  Sabbath  the  dear  good  lady  came,  and  she 
was  given  the  space  she  wanted.  But  we  are  sorry  to 
say  that  the  only  occupant  of  that  space,  which  was 

most  ample,  was  Mrs.  .     She  felt  sure,  she  said, 

that  they  were  compelled  to  go  out  with  their  carriages 
which  was  the  cause  of  their  absence.  She  decided  to 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  197 

devote  another  week  in  visiting  them,  and  report  the 
result  of  her  efforts. 

On  Saturday  at  the  end  of  the  week,  as  before,  she  was 
able  to  give  a  still  more  encouraging  report.  It  was  just 
as  she  had  feared,  she  said.  Those  who  had  promised  to 
be  present  on  the  Sabbath  previous  had  been  prevented 
by  being  comeplled  to  drive,  but  they  were  all  coming 
out  this  Sabbath,  and  a  number  of  others  besides,  whom 
she  had  seen. 

The  next  day  she  was  on  time  at  the  hour  appointed, 
and  took  her  seat  in  the  space  assigned,  but  as  the  Sab- 
bath before,  not  one  man  of  those  who  had  promised 
her  put  in  his  appearance.  She  alone  was  the  sole  occu- 
pant of  the  space  which  had  been  assigned  her. 

Her  suspicions  were  now  aroused  that  something  was 
wrong,  and  she  reluctantly  consented  to  take  the  class 
which  needed  a  teacher,  provided  that  her  proposed  class 
did  not  come.  But  that  class  of  coachmen  have  riot  put 
in  an  appearance  as  a  class  yet,  while  Mrs.  —  -  has 
been  teaching  regularly  from  that  time  to  the  present  the 
class  of  young  women  which  had  been  offered  her  at  the 
beginning.  Hence,  for  eleven  years  this  noble  woman 
has  been  one  of  our  most  faithful  and  devoted  teachers. 
Rain  or  shine,  hot  or  cold,  sick  or  well,  she  is  found  at 
her  post,  always  cheerful  and  ready  with  an  encouraging 
word  for  both  scholar  and  teacher.  Many  times  have 
we  been  cheered  and  enabled  to  take  hold  with  renewed 
energy  of  the  work  after  a  hearty  shake  of  the  hand  and 
a  few  encouraging  words  from  her,  though  when  we 
came  into  the  school  it  was  with  a  heavy  heart  and  dis- 
couraged look.  Retiring,  unostentatious,  unobtrusive, 
no  one  not  knowing  Mrs.  -  —  would  take  her  to  be  a 
lady  of  wealth  and  as  belonging  to  one  of  the  oldest  and 
most  distinguished  families  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
and  yet  such  is  the  fact;  and  notwithstanding  this  fact, 
she  is  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season  with  the 
work  of  the  Master.  Hardly  a  week  passes  when  she 


1 98  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

will  not  be  seen  visiting  the  homes  of  the  poor  and  needy, 
administering  to  the  sick  and  distressed,  or  speaking  a 
word  to  the  wayward  about  the  salvation  of  their  souls. 

There  is  no  woman,  white  or  colored,  who  is  better 
known  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  than  she,  and  there  is 
no  one  who  is  more  highly  esteemed  and  beloved. 
Her  influence  in  the  Berean  Church  is  a  benediction,  old 
and  young  looking  upon  her  as  a  sincere  friend,  and 
they  are  anxious  to  carry  out  her  every  wish.  And  this 
influence  she  exerts  not  by  asserting  herself,  or  by  in- 
fringing upon,  or  usurping  the  rights  of  the  pastor.  On 
the  contrary  she  never  takes  a  step  without  consulting 
him,  so  that  he  is  just  as  anxious  to  see  her  wishes 
obeyed  as  the  people  are  to  obey  them.  In  this  re- 
spect Mrs.  is  an  example  for  all  workers  among 

the  poor. 

There  are  too  many  otherwise  good  men  and  women 
benefactors,  who  utterly  fail  in  their  efforts  to  benefit  the 
distressed  because  of  the  intrusive  and  patronizing  man- 
ner in  which  they  impress  themselves  upon  them.  No 
man  or  woman  can  benefit  another,  no  matter  how  earn- 
estly they  labor,  if  he  impresses  him  that  what  he  does  is 
from  a  sense  of  pity  and  not  from  a  sense  of  love.  There 
are  no  people,  no  matter  how  poor  or  degraded,  but  what 
will  welcome  the  earnest  Christian  worker  who  comes  in 
the  spirit  of  Christ,  and  the  greater  the  influence  of  the 
worker,  the  higher  his  family  standing,  if  he  but  have  the 
spirit  of  Christ,  the  greater  will  be  his  influence  among 

those  he  would  help.  Mrs.  also  has  shown  her 

interest  in  the  Berean  Church  by  her  liberal  contribu- 
tions to  the  church,  as  has  every  member  of  her  family, 
she  having  contributed  not  only  frequently  to  the  church 
when  it  was  in  course  of  erection,  but  to  the  debt,  and  as 
a  crowning  act  sent  her  check  for  one  thousand  dollars 
to  assist  in  fitting  up  the  basement,  which,  by  the  original 
plan,  was  to  be  nothing  more  than  a  cellar,  but  which  is 
now  a  well  appointed  basement,  in  which  the  Sabbath 
School  and  other  meetings  are  held. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  199 

Again,  when  the  pastor  of  the  church  was  prostrated 
nervously,  Mrs.  -  —  and  her  son  assisted  him  to  take 
a  sea  voyage,  when  he  went  as  far  as  St.  John's,  New- 
foundland, visiting  in  the  meantime  Charlottetown, 
Prince  Edward's  Island,  the  Bras  d  'Or  Lakes,  Sidney, 
Baddeck,  Port  Hawksberry,  Halifax  and  St.  John's, 
New  Brunswick  and  Boston.  In  addition  to  what  Mrs. 
has  given  to  the  church  proper,  she  has  contrib- 
uted liberally  towards  the  parsonage  also. 

Among  the  warmest  and  most  substantial  supporters 
of  the  Berean  Church  and  its  pastor  are  Mrs.  Catharine 
L.  Hogg  and  her  daughters.  These  friends,  while  not 
teachers  in  the  Sabbath  School,  have  been  almost  from 
the  very  beginning  of  the  Berean  Church  the  very  best 
supporters  of  the  work,  contributing  almost  yearly 
towards  the  debt  and  the  pastor's  support  as  well. 
These  dear  Christian  friends,  with  a  few  others  who  de- 
serve special  mention,  such  as  Mrs.  Thomas  Wood,  Mrs. 
John  Mclnnis,  Mrs.  Catharine  Singerly,  Mrs.  Anna 
Coates,  Mrs.  William  Massey,  Mrs.  Mary  Massey,  the 
Misses  Otto  and  the  Misses  Bercley,  are  true  friends  of 
the  Berean  Church,  and  have  done  much  to  keep  up  the 
spirits  and  encourage  the  zeal  of  its  pastor. 

But  devoted  as  we  feel  these  friends  are  to  the  work, 
and  much  as  we  appreciate  them,  we  are  sure  that  we 
have  never  once  taken  advantage  of  their  friendship,  or 
imposed  upon  their  liberality.  Never  have  we  gone  to 
them  for  assistance  for  ourselves  personally  unless  the 
necessity  of  the  case  compelled  us. 

Mrs.  Coates,  in  addition  to  her  annual  subscription,  as- 
sisted us  to  the  World's  Fair,  which  was  wholly  unex- 
pected, and  for  which  she  shall  ever  be  held  in  grateful 
remembrance.  All  other  money  that  has  been  contrib- 
uted went  towards  paying  off  the  property  debt,  or  the 
carrying  on  of  some  line  of  Christian  work  in  the 
church. 


200  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

MR.   JOHN   McGiLL. 

But  the  friend  of  the  Berean  Church  who  stands  pre- 
eminently above  and  beyond  all  others,  simply  because 
he  has  done  more  than  all  others  to  make  it  possible  for 
the  church  to  succeed,  is  Mr.  McGill.  Too  much  can 
not  be  said  in  praise  of  this  friend. 

In  the  first  place,  Mr.  McGill  is  one  of  the  most  un- 
selfish men  that  it  has  been  our  good  fortune  to  meet. 
All  his  labors  in  the  Berean  Church,  from  the  beginning 
to  the  present,  have  been  with  a  keen  sense  of  the  highest 
good  of  the  people;  and  yet,  the  superficial  or  casual  ob- 
server would  judge  that  his  interest  was  no  deeper,  and 
went  no  farther  than  that  which  concerned  the  business 
or  financial  welfare  of  the  church,  simply  because  of  the 
great  interest  he  has  taken  in  the  building  of  the  church 
and  parsonage,  and  the  paying  off  of  the  debt  on  the 
same.  But  the  pastor  of  the  Berean  Church  knows  that 
nothing  could  be  further  from  the  truth. 

Mr.  McGill  is  a  man  of  few  words,  careful  thought,  ac- 
curate judgment  and  swift  action,  and  from  force  of 
habit  he  is  most  methodical  and  business-like  in  every- 
thing he  undertakes  and  does. 

It  is  because  of  this  business-like  and  methodical  way 
he  has  of  doing  everything  that  has  given  the  casual  and 
superficial  observer  the  impression  that  he  has  no  higher 
motive  for  assisting  a  church,  or  any  other  charity,  than 
the  help  he  can  render  it  from  a  business-like  standpoint. 

But  the  writer  knows  that  deep  down  and  beyond  this 
his  chief  motive  for  rendering  assistance  is  the  hope  of 
producing  the  highest  intellectual  and  spiritual  good  pos- 
sible of  the  enterprise  needing  assistance.  After  having 
secured  his  confidence,  one  cannot  find  a  truer  friend 
than  he.  Seldom  have  we  gone  to  his  office  after  he 
had  come  to  know  us,  that  he  did  not  inquire  after  the  in- 
tellectual and  spiritual  wants  of  the  people;  how  best  to 
reach  them,  etc. 

Many  times  during  the  years  of  our  acquaintance  he 


40^^^ 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  201 

has  talked  with  us  over  an  hour  at  a  time  in  his  office 
about  the  condition  of  the  colored  people  of  Philadelphia 
and  throughout  the  country  generally.  Being  ignorant 
of  the  people  he  was  anxious  to  know  the  facts  concern- 
ing them,  hence  he  would  inquire  of  their  wants ;  the  ob- 
stacles in  the  way  of  their  progress,  internal  and  ex- 
ternal; their  advantages  and  disadvantages;  their  fail- 
ures and  successes  and  their  future.  He  listened  at- 
tentively to  everything  we  could  give  him  relative  to  the 
subject.  He  would  also  visit  colored  districts  in  the  city, 
and  confer  with  leading  men  of  the  race  concerning  the 
condition  of  their  people. 

And  when  he  would  go  on  visits  of  business  or  pleas- 
ure to  the  South  and  Southwest,  he  would  always  make 
it  an  object  to  see  the  people  in  their  true  condition,  as 
they  live  in  their  homes,  on  the  farms  and  plantations, 
and  not  judge  them  as  many  would-be  reformers  do  by 
the  ribald  class,  which  may  be  seen  at  any  time  lounging 
about  the  depots  and  corners  of  the  streets.  He  would 
visit  all  classes  of  the  people,  as  they  are  engaged  in 
their  different  callings. 

Thus  he  familiarized  himself  with  their  schools,  and 
the  progress  they  were  making  educationally,  so  that  to- 
day there  are  few  men  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  who 
are  better  acquainted  with  the  history  and  the  present 
condition  of  the  colored  people  of  this  city  and  of  the 
country  than  he.  And  no  one  has  a  more  hopeful  view  of 
their  future. 

Mr.  McGill  believes  that  the  Negro  of  the  United 
States  has  a  bright  future,  but  that  it  is  in  his  own  hands. 
He  must  be  his  own  architect,  assisted,  to  be  sure,  but 
that  the  strength  of  character  which  he  needs  and  must 
have  in  order  to  be  respected  and  honored  he  can  secure 
only  by  dint  of  his  own  efforts. 

Mr.  McGill's  interest  in  the  colored  people  is  exhibited 
by  his  work  in  the  Berean  Church  ever  since  the  writer 
secured  his  attention  to  this  enterprise,  in  the  fall  of 


202  PRESS  YTERIANZSM. 

1882,  fifteen  years  ago;  from  that  time  to  the  present 
he  has  never  abated  in  his  interest.  Having  not  only 
purchased  the  grounds  and  erected  the  buildings,  and  re- 
ceived in  dribs  the  collections  until  he  was  reimbursed  of 
money  advanced,  as  has  been  shown  in  these  pages,  but 
he  has  taken  a  most  lively  interest  in  everything  pertain- 
ing to  the  development  of  the  enterprise,  from  that 
time  to  the  present. 

On  the  evening  of  the  fourth  Thursday  in  each  month 
he  is  found  regularly  at  his  post,  in  the  basement  of  the 
church,  as  Treasurer  of  the  Berean  Building  and  Loan 
Association,  unless  absent  from  the  city,  which  has  not 
occurred  more  than  half  a  dozen  times  in  a  period  of 
nine  years.  The  value  of  having  a  friend  of  his  wealth 
and  business  standing  in  the  city,  to  occupy  a  position  of 
this  kind,  cannot  be  overestimated.  His  remarkable  pa- 
tience, clear  judgment,  valuable  advice  and  extensive  ex- 
perience as  a  practical  business  man,  are  qualities  which 
especially  fit  him  to  be  of  the  greatest  value  to  the  people 
whom  the  Berean  Building  and  Loan  Association  was 
intended  to  aid.  For  few  of  the  people  having  any  spec- 
ial training  along  business  lines,  and  all  being  poor  and 
for  the  most  part  improvident,  there  was  need  that  there 
should  be  one  who  had  the  financial  standing  of  Mr. 
McGill,  to  occupy  the  position  in  the  association  which 
he  does  in  order  to  give  it  both  standing  and  influence, 
and  thus  secure  the  confidence  of  all  parties  concerned. 

Mr.  McGill  has  been  an  incentive  to  the  members  of 
the  Association  to  save  their  earnings,  many  are  in- 
debted to  him  for  the  homes  they  are  buying.  Upward  of 
fifty  homes  have  been  purchased  through  the  association 
since  its  organization,  and  its  assets  are  over  $60,000. 

Mr.  McGill  aside  from  contributing  liberally  to- 
wards the  Berean  Church  namely,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  at  one  time,  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  at  an- 
other, and  one  thousand  dollars  at  another,  and  smaller 
contributions  from  time  to  time,  before  and  after,  the  whole 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  203 

amounting  to  over  four  thousands  dollars,  besides  giving 
his  personal  attention  to  the  purchase  of  the  lots  and  erec- 
tion of  the  buildings,  &c.,  he  has  saved  the  church  about 
three  thousand  dollars  by  business  transactions  and  con- 
tributions with  contractors  and  merchants  from  whom 
material  was  purchased,  making  in  all  a  grand  total  of 
upwards  of  eight  thousand  dollars,  Which  he  indirectly 
secured  for,  and  turned  over  to  the  Berean  Church. 
Now  when  there  is  taken  in  to  consideration  the  fact  that 
Mr.  McGill  has  thrown  his  influence  on  the  side  of  the 
Berean  Church  ever  since  he  first  became  actively  inter- 
ested, in  the  Fall  of  1882  up  to  the  present  time,  advis- 
ing and  counselling  the  pastor;  sacrificing  his  rest  by  at- 
tending the  meetings  of  the  Building  and  Loan  Asso- 
ciation, receiving  without  restriction  or  resentment 
the  members  of  the  association  at  his  office  at  any  time, 
no  matter  how  greatly  he  might  be  crowded  with  the 
business  of  his  great  firm,  the  Pequea  Mills,  at  the  time; 
listening  attentively  to  their  requests,  fears,  and  com- 
plaints; also  patiently  and  most  painstakingly  instruct- 
ing them  in  the  principles  of  Building  Associations;  we 
say  after  all  that  he  has  done  for  the  uplifting  of  the 
colored  people  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia  and  land,  that 
he  is  a  most  exceptional  man.  We  have  been  intimately 
acquainted  with  Mr.  McGill  in  the  work  of  the  Berean 
Church  all  these  years.  We  have  observed  him  from 
almost  every  point  of  view,  and  we  are  prepared  to  say 
that  there  is  not  a  man  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  white 
or  black  in  all  our  range  of  acquaintances  who  would 
have  withstood  what  he  has. 

FALSE   FRIENDS. 

There  have  been  brought  against  him.  influences  ad- 
verse to  what  he  was  doing  for  the  Berean  Church  and  the 
colored  people,  which  would  have  changed  the  mind  and 
caused  almost  any  other  man  to  have  given  up  in  dis- 
gust; but  like  the  great  rock  in  the  Ocean  which  with- 


204  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

stands  the  surging  waves,  and  dashes  them  back  in 
spray,  so  he  has  withstood  the  surging  waves,  of  criti- 
cism, which  was  engendered  by  covetousness,  prejudice 
and  contempt,  on  the  part  of  a  Negro-hating  class  on  the 
one  hand,  and  fostered  by  ignorance,  suspicion,  narrow- 
ness and  jealousy  of  a  bigoted  class  of  Negroes  on  the 
other. 

Every  influence  has  been  brought  to  bear  both  directly 
and  indirectly  by  the  former  class  to  discourage  Mr. 
McGill  from  doing  so  much  for  the  colored  people; 
while  the  latter  were  just  as  anxious  to  dissuade  him 
from  doing  so  much  for  the  Berean  Church  out  of 
jealousy. 

The  arguments  of  the  former  stated  that  the  colored 
people  did  not  need  to  have  so  much  done  for  them, 
for  they  were  over  thirty  years  removed  from  slavery. 
Building  them  such  a  beautiful  church  and  parsonage 
would  make  them  proud  and  conceited,  since  they  were 
not  used  to  such  things.  It  would  be  setting  a  wrong 
precedent.  There  were  many  poor  white  congregations 
which  were  standing  in  greater  need  of  such  assistance, 
who  would  more  highly  appreciate  it  than  the  people 
for  whom  it  was  intended  argued  and  insinuated  the 
former. 

The  arguments  of  the  latter  were,  the  colored  people 
were  nearly  all  Methodists  and  Baptists  in  the  city  and 
that  they  never  would  be  anything  else. 

The  congregation  of  the  Berean  Church  would  al- 
ways be  poor  and  small  and  therefore  unable  to  sup- 
port the  church.  That  Mr.  McGill  had  better  given 
the  money  to  one  of  the  Methodist  or  Baptist  Churches, 
if  he  wanted  to  see  grand  results.  But  none  of  these 
arguments  or  all  of  them  together  had  the  effect  of 
turning  him  from  his  determined  purpose. 

They  then  resort  to  more  subtle  and  adroit  means  to 
win  his  confidence,  that  of  flattery.  The  work  was  most 
praiseworthy  and  commendable,  but  they  insinuated, 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  205 

that  Mr.  Anderson's  work  was  not  commensurate  with 
what  he  Mr.  McGill,  had  done  for  him,  or  the  assist- 
ance he  was  receiving.  The  congregations  were  small, 
that  he  did  not  seem  to  be  getting  hold  of  the  people 
as  it  was  supposed  he  would,  and  as  he  certainly  ought 
from  the  assistance  he  had  received. 

And  they  insinuated  further,  that  it  would  be  well  for 
him  to  keep  his  eye  on  his,  Mr.  Anderson's,  subscrip- 
tion list  for  the  church. 

On  the  other  hand  the  same  parties  would  come  to  the 
pastor  of  the  Berean  Church  and  attempt  to  flatter  him 
over  his  work,  his  wonderful  self-forgetfulness,  his  heroic 
efforts  and  the  great  blessing  he  was  to  the  colored  peo- 
ple, the  monument  he  had  built,  his  persevering  and  un- 
tiring efforts,  etc. 

But  they  insinuated  that  the  property  was  in  a  very 
precarious  shape,  in  that  it  was  being  held  by  one  man, 
Mr.  McGill.  That  while  he  was  all  right  himself,  yet 
should  anything  happen  to  him,  the  church  would  be 
placed  in  a  very  precarious  or  awkward  condition,  for 
unless  he  has  so  expressed  it  in  writing  there  is  no  evi- 
dence whatever  that  his  heirs  would  carry  out  his  wishes; 
and  further,  they  felt  that  Mr.  McGill  ought  to  pay  off 
the  balance  of  the  debt  on  the  property,  and  thus  re- 
lease him  from  soliciting  entirely  so  as  to  give  his  time 
wholly  to  the  building  up  of  the  spiritual  part  of  the 
work. 

We  invariably  answered  all  these  flatterers  and  insinu- 
ators  that  we  had  simply  done  our  duty,  which 
we  had  striven  to  do  faithfully  and  well,  while  as  regards 
Mr.  McGill,  we  had  the  most  profound  faith  and  con- 
fidence in  him,  that  he  had  done  far  more  than  we  had 
the  least  conception  he  would  do,  and  that  it  would  be 
wrong  to  expect  him  to  do  more,  that  while  we  sup- 
posed that  it  might  be  more  satisfactory,  to  all  parties 
concerned,  especially  to  those  who  had  done  the  least 
for  the  church,  but  who  were  now  trying  to  arouse  sus- 


206  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

picion,  if  the  property  were  all  turned  over  to  the 
church,  yet  so  far  as  we  were  concerned  we  had  every 
confidence  in  it  being  held  as  it  was,  until  every  vestige 
of  debt  was  removed;  for,  we  had  been  assured  by  Mr. 
McGill,  that  he  had  everything  so  fixed,  that  his  family 
would  carry  out  his  wishes  in  regard  to  the  Berean  prop- 
erty, in  case  of  death,  and  that  we  preferred  to  wait  until 
the  entire  property,  church  and  parsonage,  were  free  from 
all  incumbrance  before  turning  it  over,  if  the  friends 
only  would  be  patient. 

The  jealously-disposed  and  narrow  minded  of  the  col- 
ored people  were  also  engendering  a  feeling  among  their 
own  people,  which  was  prejudicial  to  the  work,  by  say- 
ing that  the  property  did  not  belong  to  the  organization 
of  the  Berean  Church,  and  gave  as  prima  facia  evidence 
the  fact  that  the  property  was  being  held  by  one  man. 

THE  PROPERTY  TURNED  OVER  TO  THE  CHURCH. 

It  was  because  of  these  bickerings,  jealousies,  fault- 
findings, flatteries,  hypocrisies  and  insinuations,  that  we 
asked  Mr.  McGill  to  turn  the  property  over  to  the 
church,  which  he  readily  did,  taking  a  mortgage  of 
thirty-five  'hundred  dollars,  the  amount  due  him  on  the 
parsonage. 

But  Mr.  McGill  did  not  know  it  at  the  time,  nor  will 
he  know  it  now,  unless  he  reads  it  in  these  pages,  the 
flatteries,  the  bickerings,  the  insinuations  which  were 
brought  to  bear  upon  us,  to  weaken  our  confidence,  by 
those  who  professed  to  be  fair  to  him.  We  had  too 
high  an  esteem  for  him  and  regard  for  his  feelings  to  let 
him  see  the  deception  which  was  being  perpetrated  upon 
us  both.  It  is  true,  there  were  honest  individuals,  true 
friends  of  the  enterprise,  who  felt  that  the  property 
ought  to  be  turned  over,  who  looked  at  it  from  a  purely 
business  standpoint.  We  are  not  referring  to  these,  but 
to  those  who  had  no  object  other  than  to  destroy  the 
confidence  between  us,  and  thus  turn  his  interests  from 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  207 

the  colored  people  to  themselves.  We  were  once  asked 
to  tell  the  difference  between  a  great  man  and  a  great 
mountain.  When  we  were  unable  to  answer,  we  were 
told  that  the  closer  one  gets  to  a  great  man  the  smaller 
he  seems,  while  the  closer  one  approaches  a  great  moun- 
tain the  greater  it  appears.  While  this  may  be  true  of 
most  men,  it  is  not  true  of  all,  and  it  certainly  is  not  true 
of  Mr.  McGill ;  for  the  closer  we  get  to  him  the  more  we 
see  of  his  inner  life,  the  grander  does  he  appear;  his  pris- 
tine qualities  shine  forth  in  all  of  their  effulgency  and 
glory  and  exhibit  him  as  the  embodiment  of  a  noble 
manhood. 

INTIMATELY  ACQUAINTED  WITH   MR.  McGiLL  FOR 
FOURTEEN  YEARS. 

For  fourteen  years  we  have  known  him  intimately, 
during  which  time  we  have  seen  him  on  an  average  of 
once  a  week;  and  yet  on  not  a  single  occasion  in  all 
this  time  have  we  detected  in  him  a  defect  in  his  moral 
make-up.  We  never  heard  him  utter  a  word  which  on 
reflection  would  cause  a  blush,  or  do  an  act  that  was  not 
in  keeping  with  the  golden  rule.  We  do  not  mean  to 
imply  that  he  is  perfect.  He  no  doubt  makes  mistakes 
like  every  man,  but  his  mistakes  are  more  the  mistakes 
of  the  head  than  the  heart. 

MOTIVES    DISPLAYED. 

He  may  be  thought  at  times  to  be  overly  stern,  exact- 
ing, or  even  merciless  in  his  business  transactions,  by 
those  who  do  not  stop  to  inquire  into  or  consider  his 
real  motives.  We  thought  so  ourselves.  For  example, 
when  there  was  not  a  word  of  commendation  given  when 
we  would  turn  over  to  him  five  hundred,  seven 
hundred,  or  ten  hundlred,  and  as  high  as  twelve 
hundred  dollars,  as  the  case  might  be,  which  had 
been  raised  by  the  most  herculean  efforts  on 
our  part;  having  walked  the  streets  day  and  night  for 


208  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

weeks,  and  that  too  often  with  a  heavy  heart  and  per- 
turbed brain,  because  of  the  want  of  comprehension  and 
sympathy  on  the  part  of  the  colored  people,  and  insults 
from  the  whites. 

Many  times  we  would  leave  the  last  cent  we  had  in 
our  possession  not  reserving  car  fare,  and  occasionally 
take  money  that  belonged  to  ourselves,  so  as  to  make 
the  very  largest  returns  possible,  when  we  would  receive 
instead  of  commendation,  a  gentle  reminder  that  a  good 
deal  was  still  needed  in  order  to  pay  off  the  indebted- 
ness, and  that  we  could  not  push  it  too  rapidly. 

Many  times  have  we  left  Mr.  McGill's  office  with  a 
feeling  of  disappointment  in  that  he  did  not  give  us  a 
word  of  encouragement,  or  drop  a  single  expression  by 
which  we  might  know  whether  he  were  pleased  or  dis- 
pleased with  the  results  of  our  efforts.  But  we  know 
now,  and  we  smile  as  we  write,  that  his  motive  was  the 
very  best.  Indeed  it  was  just  the  course  that  was  need- 
ed to  enable  us  to  reach  the  consummation  of  our  plans, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  prevent  us  from  being  inflated 
with  pride,  and  from  becoming  indifferent  and  lazy,  to- 
wards which  we  have  a  natural  tendency.  The  unsel- 
fish and  magnanimous  spirit  of  Mr.  McGill,  is  further 
seen  in  that  he  applied  the  interest  accruing  from 
monies  deposited  with  him  at  different  times  on  the  debt 
until  the  transfer  of  the  property,  towards  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  rent  owed  him  by  the  pastor,  on  the  dwelling 
1926  South  College  avenue,  which  he  was  unable  to 
keep  up,  while  so  greatly  taxed  in  raising  money  on  the 
debt,  thus  by  this  act  of  kindness,  saving  him  several 
months'  rent,  which  is  quite  an  item  to  a  poor  minister, 
of  a  poor  church. 

PLEDGED  TO  REMAIN  UNTIL  DEBT  WAS  PAID. 

We  had  pledged  ourselves  and  our  friends  that  we 
would  not  leave  the  work  of  the  Berean  Church  no  mat- 
ter how  great  the  pressure  until  it  would  be  entirely 
free  from  debt.  For  we  said  it  would  not  be  just  to  the 


77-5  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  209 

friends,  whom  we  had  induced  to  contribute  towards 
the  enterprise,  some  of  them  liberally,  and  especially  Mr. 
McGill,  who  had  assumed  the  entire  responsibility  of 
advancing  the  money  for  the  lot  and  buildings  as  well 
as  having  contributed  largely  himself,  for  us  to  leave 
before  every  vestige  of  debt  was  paid  off.  For  there 
were  indications  that  the  people  were  not  heartily  united 
on  us,  as  their  pastor. 

For  example,  in  the  first  place,  there  was  the  com- 
mon belief,  that  the  builders  of  churches,  cannot  remain 
as  ministers  after  their  churches  are  built. 

UNWISE  TRUSTEES. 

Secondly,  there  were  several  worldly  wise  trustees  in 
the  Berean  Church,  who  looking  only  at  the  loaves  and 
fishes,  felt  that  they  could  have  things  more  their  own 
way,  if  the  pastor,  Mr.  Anderson,  was  removed;  ac- 
cordingly they  had  been  holding  star  chamber  meet- 
ings to  have  him  removed.  But  they  were  too  ignorant, 
to  know  that  there  was  nothing  that  they  could  do 
legally  to  accomplish  their  purpose,  for  technically 
speaking,  they  were  nothing  more  than  an  advisory 
board,  since  the  church  had  not  yet  been  incorporated. 

In  one  of  these  meetings,  at  which  we  happened  to  be 
present,  it  was  proposed  to  borrow  the  money  and  pay 
Mr.  McGill  off,  and  take  the  property  themselves;  when 
the  fact  was,  to  pay  him  off  at  that  time,  they  would 
have  been  obliged  to  borrow  twenty-four  thousand  dol- 
lars, the  interest  of  which  alone,  at  4  per  cent,  would 
have  amounted  to  nine  hundred  and  sixty  dollars  annu- 
ally, which  at  a  glance  can  be  seen  would  have  been 
suicidal.  The  property  would  long  since  have  been  sold 
by  the  sheriff,  and  now  the  beautiful  Berean  Presbyterian 
Church  and  grounds  would  be  remembered  only  as 
among  the  things  of  the  past.  We  were  compelled, 
therefore,  from  a  sense  of  duty,  to  give  these  brethren 
to  understand  that  they  could  not  do  this  thing.  And* 
14 


210  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

when  they  began  to  be  obstreperous  and  unreasonable 
we  asked  for  a  committee  of  the  Presbytery  to  meet  with 
us  and  advise  concerning  the  matter. 

ADVISORY   COMMITTEE. 

The  committee  met  at  the  church  on  the  i/th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1885,  and  after  hearing  both  sides  they  unani- 
mously advised: 

ist.  That  inasmuch  as  the  church  was  heavily  in 
debt  to  Mr.  John  McGill,  who  as  Trustee  held  the  prop- 
erty in  trust  for  the  church,  having  made  himself  legally 
liable  for  all  unpaid  obligations  against  the  property,  that 
he  be  retained  as  trustee  until  the  church  would  be  in  a 
condition  to  take  it  themselves,  which  would  not  be  un- 
til after  the  debt  was  paid  off. 

2d.  In  the  event  of  the  death  or  resignation  of  Mr. 
John  McGill  before  the  canceling  of  the  debt,  that  the 
Presbytery  nominate,  or  receive  nominations  from  the 
Berean  Church  of  a  successor,  but  that  the  wishes  of  the 
church  be  carefully  considered  and  accepted,  unless  con- 
trary to  the  judgment  of  Presbytery. 

3d.  That  inasmuch  as  the  church  had  not  been  char- 
tered, it  was  not  a  corporate  body;  hence  it  was  not  in 
a  condition  legally  to  hold  property,  and  that  the  then 
present  active  Trustee  Board  had  not,  in  fact,  any  legal 
status,  and  hence  could  not  hold  property.  They  there- 
fore advised  the  dissolution  of  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
and  recommended  that  a  Board  of  Deacons,  in  con- 
junction with  the  Session,  take  charge  of  and  disburse 
all  the  finances  in  relation  to  the  running  expenses  of  the 
church,  which  would  conform  both  to  the  scriptural 
teaching  and  the  recommendation  of  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States. 

The  committee  at  the  same  time  commended  the  self- 
denying  spirit  and  liberality  of  the  church,  which  had 
done  well,  considering  their  circumstances  and  means, 
and  the  perseverance  and  success  of  their  pastor,  Rev. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  211 

M.  Anderson,  who  had  solicited  most  of  the  funds  which 
had  been  paid  on  the  property. 

The  congregation  at  once  acted  upon  the  resolutions 
of  the  committee  and  unanimously  accepted  and  adopted 
their  advice  as  their  future  rule  of  action. 

The  committee  consisted  of  Rev.  Samuel  Mutchmore, 
D.  D.,  Rev.  J.  W.  Bain,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Robert  Graham, 
D.  D.,  Elder  James  Hogg,  Elder  Thomas  Wood,  Elder 
Reuel  Stewart,  M.  D.,  and  the  Hon.  George  S.  Graham, 
the  District  Attorney. 

In  the  Berean  Church  peace  reigned,  and  peace  has 
reigned  ever  since.  Those  who  were  causing  the 
trouble,  when  they  found  that  their  influence  was  de- 
stroyed, left  the  church  and  went  elsewhere,  or  re- 
mained out  of  church  altogether. 

PROPOSED   RESIGNATION. 

In  keeping  with  our  avowed  purpose  we  suffered 
nothing  to  weaken  our  interest  in,  or  to  divert  our  atten- 
tion from  the  Berean  Church  until  every  vestige  of  debt 
was  removed,  which  achievement  was  reached  and  ap- 
propriately acknowledged  by  the  grand  jubilee  given  by 
the  colored  citizens  of  the  city,  irrespective  of  church  or 
denomination  on  the  I4th  of  May,  1891,  ten  years  to  a 
day,  as  has  been  shown  from  the  time  that  the  first  sub- 
scription was  made  by  Mr.  Samuel  H.  Jarden. 

We  were  now  free  from  our  vow,  and  we  felt  that  if 
the  spiritual  interest  of  the  church  would  be  advanced, 
and  the  work  which  had  been  begun  along  the  different 
lines  of  church  work  would  be  more  rapidly  carried  on 
and  developed  by  some  other  brother,  we  would  most 
gladly  resign  and  go  elsewhere.  For  while  we  were  de- 
voted to  the  church  and  the  work,  and  would  rather 
preach  in  the  Berean  Church  than  any  other,  still  we 
felt  that  the  cause  we  represented  was  worth  infinitely 
more  than  all  personal  considerations,  and  therefore  the 
question  to  be  considered  was  not  whether  we  wanted  to 


2 1 2  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

stay,  but  whether  it  would  be  best  for  the  cause  for  us 
to  stay.  For  we  believed  that  if  a  live  man  was  in  the 
pulpit  of  the  Berean  Church,  other  things  being  equal, 
for  example,  a  man  who  was  a  devout  Christian  and 
abreast  of  the  times,  and  having  nothing  to  do  with  the 
collecting  of  funds,  there  was  no  reason  why  he  should 
not  in  a  few  years  crowd  the  church  and  have  an  ag- 
gressive congregation.  For  the  church  building  was 
beautiful,  well  appointed  and  central,  and  entirely  paid 
off;  besides,  it  had  a  perpetual  insurance  on  the  building 
of  ten  thousand  dollars.  In  addition,  pledges  had  been 
made  of  upwards  of  three  thousand  dollars  towards  pay- 
ing for  the  parsonage,  a  most  beautiful  building,  which 
was  built  the  same  time  as  the  church,  on  which  there 
was  an  insurance  of  three  thousand  dollars. 

Accordingly,  on  the  I5th  of  January,  1893,  a  call  was 
read  from  the  pulpit  for  a  congregational  meeting  for 
Friday  evening,  January  2/th,  1893,  to  ask  the  Presby- 
tery for  a  dissolution  of  the  pastoral  relation  of  the  Rev. 
Matthew  Anderson  and  the  Berean  Church. 

In  a  letter  which  was  addressed  to  the  church  and 
the  Trustee  Board  by  the  pastor,  the  following  reasons 
were  given  for  asking  for  a  dissolution  of  the  pastoral 
relation. 

First: — There  was  not  given  sufficient  salary  to  sup- 
port the  minister  and  his  family. 

Second: — That  he  did  not  feel  that  he  was  having  the 
hearty  co-operation  of  the  people  in  the  northwestern 
section  of  the  city,  which  was  necessary  in  order  to  do 
the  work  which  was  needed  to  be  done,  and  which  he 
had  in  his  heart  to  do.  While  the  church  is  united,  there 
has  not  been  the  interest  manifested  in  the  work  gener- 
ally, and  in  the  services  of  the  church  particularly,  which 
he  had  hoped,  and  which  he  must  have  in  order  to  work 
conscientiously.  That  he  knew  the  want  of  interest  was 
largely  the  result  of  his  being  so  circumstanced,  as  not 
to  be  able  to  do  any  or  but  little  missionary  work,  as  the 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  213 

money  for  the  property  had  to  be  raised  principally  by 
himself,  this  together  with  the  fact  that  he  was  not  re- 
ceiving sufficient  salary  to  meet  his  wants  necessarily 
prevented  him  from  doing  the  missionary  work,  that  was 
needed  to  be  done,  and  which  under  other  circumstances 
would  be  done. 

Third: — There  were  young  men  of  ability  who  were 
available  for  the  pulpit,  who  could  do  the  work  as  well, 
and  perhaps  better,  than  the  pastor,  and  who  no  doubt 
would  have  a  more  hearty  support  of  the  people;  for 
laboring  as  he  had  been  obliged  to  do  to  secure  the 
property  had  the  tendency  to  prejudice  the  minds  of 
some,  who  were  not  in  a  condition  to  know  the  facts,  or 
who  were  too  narrow  in  their  views  to  inquire  into  them. 
Besides,  the  property  being  out  of  debt,  he  could  see 
no  reason  why  a  new  man,  of  wisdom  and  understanding, 
should  not  meet  with  great  success. 

Fourth: — He  had  felt  for  a  long  time  that  he  had 
not  the  hearty  sympathy  and  co-operation  of  his  Pres- 
bytery in  his  work.  It  never  seemed  to  him  that  his 
Presbytery  understood  the  peculiar  nature  of  his  field, 
or  cared  to  take  the  pains  to  inquire  into  it.  The  work 
of  the  Berean  Church  is  a  peculiar  work.  The  people 
need  training  along  many  lines,  not  only  as  to  their 
regular  attendance  of  the  services  on  the  Sabbath,  but 
along  the  lines  of  systematic  giving,  economy,  frugality, 
co-operation  and  thrift.  It  must  be  seen  that  the  people 
are  poor,  many  of  them  very  poor,  and  have  not  the 
means  of  a  livelihood  within  their  reach,  which  the  poor 
members  of  our  other  churches  have. 

Fifth: — In  his  judgment  the  glory  of  God  demanded 
that  a  dissolution  of  the  pastoral  relation  take  place. 
The  servant  of  Christ  should  labor  where  he  can  do  the 
most  for  Him,  and  all  personal  considerations  should 
be  laid  aside.  He  felt  that  the  work  in  the  Berean 
Church  could  be  promoted  more  by  some  new  man,  and 
therefore  he  did  not  feel  that  it  would  be  right  or  wise 


2 1 4  PRESB  YTERIA  NISM. 

to  stand  in  the  way,  and  hoped  that  all  who  had  taken  an 
interest  in  him  and  his  work  all  these  years  would  now 
unite  with  him  in  asking  Presbytery  for  a  dissolution  of 
the  pastoral  relation. 

The  congregational  meeting  was  largely  attended, 
there  being  present  not  only  the  special  friends  of  the 
pastor  but  also  those  who  were  thought  to  be  against 
him.  Dr.  John  B.  Reeve,  pastor  of  Central  Presbyterian 
Church,  on  Lombard  street,  was  chosen  as  Moderator. 
The  most  liberal  opportunity  was  given  for  each  one  to 
express  himself,  and  after  a  most  lengthy  but  friendly 
discussion  in  our  absence,  the  conclusion  reached  was 
that  all  should  vote  against  the  dissolution  of  the  pas- 
toral relation. 

RESOLUTIONS. 

The  following  resolutions  were  read  and  unanimously 
adopted  as  expressive  of  the  sentiment  of  the  meeting: 

Whereas,  Our  respected  pastor,  the  Rev.  Matthew 
Anderson,  has  asked  this  congregation  to  join  with  him 
in  requesting  Presbytery  to  dissolve  the  present  pastoral 
relation,  and 

Whereas,  The  reasons  assigned  by  him  for  his  action 
are  not  any  lack  of  harmony  between  pastor  and  people, 
but  insufficient  support  and  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
people,  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  this  congregation  express  its  attach- 
ment to  Mr.  Anderson,  and  profound  desire  to  keep  him 
in  his  present  position ;  and  that  we  pledge  to  him,  with 
God's  help,  our  earnest  support  in  the  future  in  all  the 
work  of  the  church,  and  that  a  committee  be  appointed 
by  the  chairman  of  the  meeting  to  present  Mr.  Anderson 
with  a  petition  from  the  people  asking  him  to  remain, 
and  to  inform  him  that  a  subscription  list,  securing  at 
least  thirty  dollars  per  month,  has  been  raised  towards 
the  salary;  and  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  congregation  defer  all  further  ac- 
tion until  Mr.  Anderson  has  reconsidered  his  intention  of 
resigning. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  215 

The  following  persons  were  sent  as  a  committee  to 
present  to  the  pastor  the  above  resolutions:  Elder  Jas. 
Porter,  Wesley  Taylor,  Mrs.  Hattie  Ivey  and  Mrs.  Amy 
Jeffers. 

We  were  surprised  at  the  action  of  the  congregation, 
especially  when  assured  that  some  who  had  been  the 
most  outspoken  in  our  favor  were  those  whom  we  had 
regarded  as  being  very  much  opposed  to  us. 

We  replied  to  the  committee  that  after  seeing  such  a 
hearty  expression  of  goodwill  and  sympathy  on  the  part 
of  the  congregation,  being  as  we  were  assured  their 
unanimous  expression,  that  we  could  not  do  other  than 
yield  to  their  wishes  and  take  up  the  work  anew.  But 
we  said  that  in  taking  up  the  work  anew  that  we  wanted 
to  feel  in  our  inmost  soul  that  all  would  take  up  the 
work  anew  with  us,  for  if  all  would  put  their  shoulders 
to  the  wheel  success  would  crown  our  every  effort;  but  if 
they  would  fold  their  hands  and  expect  the  pastor  to  do 
the  work,  failure  was  inevitable,  but  we  believed  better 
things  of  them.  If  they  had  all  been  in  the  cart  hitherto 
and  their  pastor  in  the  shafts  dragging  them  along  they 
had  all  gotten  out  now,  and  we  hoped  that  they  would 
remain  out,  and  push  and  pull  with  us. 

PEACE  AND   HARMONY. 

Since  then  there  is  not  a  church  in  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia which  is  more  united  than  the  pastor  and  people 
of  Berean  Church.  And  though  the  congregations  are 
not  large,  yet  we  believe  that  the  time  is  not  distant 
when  the  church  will  be  crowded. 

Up  to  the  present  time  the  pastor's  hands  have  been 
tied  so  that  he  could  do  but  little  missionary  work.  First 
we  had  to  raise  the  money  for  the  grounds  and  church 
building.  When  this  was  paid  off  we  turned  our  at- 
tention to  the  parsonage.  When  we  will  have  raised 
thirty-five  hundred  dollars  more  so  as  to  remove  the 
mortgage  on  the  parsonage,  and  three  or  four  hundred 


2  16  PRESB  YTERIAAISM. 

dollars  of  a  floating  debt,  our  hands  will  be  entirely 
loosened. 

Our  prayer  to  God  is  that  some  one  whom  the  Lord 
has  blessed  with  this  world's  goods  will  have  it  in  his 
heart  to  pay  off  this  balance  and  thus  relieve  us  of  all 
further  anxiety  on  the  subject,  so  that  we  may  devote  our 
energy  wholly  to  the  social,  intellectual  and  spiritual  work 
of  the  church.  We  are  sure  that  there  are  those  in  this 
city  who  would  gladly  give  this  balance  if  they  knew 
the  facts  concerning  what  has  been  done,  and  the  inabil- 
ity of  the  people  in  the  field  to  do  much. 

The  Berean  Church  needs  no  outside  defense.  The 
work  which  has  been  accomplished  is  its  best  defense. 
Now  we  ask,  if  a  small  handful  of  people,  with  their 
pastor,  were  able  under  God  to  accomplish  what  the 
Berean  Church  has  (comparatively)  in  so  short  a  time, 
what  would  they  not  accomplish  if  they  had  the  hearty 
co-operation,  sympathy  and  support  of  the  Christian 
people  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  Yes,  what  might 
they  not  do  if  they  had  but  the  sympathy  and  co-operation 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia? 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

FIRST.    PITYING  THE  NEGRO.     OBSTACLES  IN  THE  WAY 
OF  THE   NEGRO'S   PROGRESS. 

There  is  a  great  deal  of  pity,  but  very  little  love  and 
respect  for  the  Negro.  But  pity  that  is  not  accompanied 
by  love,  awakened  by  a  sense  of  brotherly  feeling,  always 
engenders  contempt,  and  instead  of  benefitting  the  per- 
son or  people  who  are  its  object,  only  tends  to  make 
them  appear  more  pitiable  and  lessen  their  chances  to 
rise. 

It  is  not  that  the  good  people  of  Philadelphia  do  not 
know  the  wants  of  the  colored  people  that  more  is  not 
done  to  alleviate  them.  They  know  them  only  too  well ; 
but  the  trouble  is  they  have  no  Christ-like  feeling  of  love 
and  philanthropy  for  the  people.  They  know  all  about 
their  faults,  they  can  discourse  most  eloquently  and  de- 
scribe most  vividly  the  deplorable  condition  of  the 
colored  people  in  the  slum  districts;  they  can  tell  all 
about  the  licentiousness,  the  viciousness,  the  indolence 
and  the  thriftlessness  of  the  colored  people  of  the  city, 
but  they  cannot  tell  you  anything  about  their  virtues, 
their  struggles  against  almost  insurmountable  obstacles 
and  their  triumphs. 

The  church  in  Philadelphia  is  woefully  ignorant  con- 
cerning the  Negro  in  her  midst,  notwithstanding  her 
boasted  wisdom  and  wise  speculations  on  the  subject. 

There  is  not  a  day  that  the  writer  is  not  pained  and 
chagrined  at  the  woful  and  inexcusable  ignorance  of 
otherwise  well-informed  Christian  men  and  women  in  re- 
gard to  the  colored  people,  for  example  as  to  the  number 
in  the  city,  where  they  reside,  the  denominations  repre- 
sented, the  proportion  that  attend  church,  the  amount  of 
taxable  property  owned,  the  number  of  children  attend- 

217 


218  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

ing  school  and  their  educational  advancement.  No  one 
minister  in  twenty  can  answer  these  questions  correctly, 
much  less  the  members,  while  every  one  can  discuss  en- 
tertainingly upon  the  despicable  Negro.  Now,  why  is 
this?  It  is  because  they  have  from  force  of  habit  been 
looking  upon  the  Negro  with  pity  and  not  with  love. 
Now,  it  is  just  as  impossible  to  benefit  a  people  with  cold 
pity  as  it  is  to  be  thawed  out  with  icicles  when  freezing. 

There  must  be  in  one  a  feUow-feeling,  a  sincere  de- 
sire for  the  good  of  all  men,  a  willingness  to  stoop  to  lift 
up  the  most  degraded  because  he  is  a  man,  stamped  in 
the  image  of  God  and  entitled  to  all  the  God  given  rights 
and  privileges  in  common  with  other  men,  if  he  would 
exhibit  the  spirit  of  Christ  as  well  as  that  of  a  humanitar- 
ian, which  spirit  even  the  heathen  possesses  who  is  led 
only  by  the  light  of  nature. 

No  one  can  turn  on  his  heel  and  excuse  himself  from 
being  personally  interested  in  any  peop^  because  he  is  of 
a  different  race  or  nationality,  for  God  Almighty  has 
made  him  his  brother's  keeper,  and  his  brother  is  not 
confined  to  certain  geographical,  ethnological  or  socio- 
logical lines,  but  every  and  any  man  within  the  reach  of 
his  influence  is  his  brother,  whether  it  is  his  next-door 
neighbor  or  is  in  the  slums  of  our  great  cities,  along  the 
frigid  slopes  of  Siberia  or  on  the  burning  sands  of  Arabia 
or  Africa. 

And  just  so  far  as  this  spirit  of  brotherly  love  is  carried 
out  are  communities  raised  to  higher  planes,  and  are  the 
great  underlying  principles  and  truths  of  the  Christian 
religion,  as  taught  in  the  Bible,  received  and  obeyed. 

It  is  a  truism  that  a  chain  is  no  stronger  than  its  weak- 
est link,  and  it  is  a  truism  equally  self-evident  that  the 
healthfulness  of  a  community  is  no  sounder  than  its 
most  unhealthy  district.  For  every  community  is  an  or- 
ganic union,  a  body  politic,  every  part  of  which  is  inti- 
mately connected  with  and  affected  by  each  other. 
Therefore,  if  one  part  is  infected  with  some  deadly  dis- 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  219 

ease,  this  part,  if  not  healed,  will  in  turn  infect  the  other 
parts,  and  in  time  the  whole  community  will  be  brought 
down  to  the  same  diseased  condition,  physically. 

In  like  manner,  if  a  part  of  a  community  is  infected  by 
some  deadly  moral  disease,  a  moral  miasma,  in  fact,  unless 
the  part  infected  is  cured,  even  though  incision  were 
used  to  remove  the  diseased  part,  the  whole  community 
will  be  infected  in  time,  and  brought  down  to  the  same 
moral  level.  Therefore,  no  one  need  feel  that  he  is  safe 
from  the  disease  because  he  does  not  live  in  the  infected 
district.  He  may  live  in  the  most  aristocratic  part  of  the 
city,  his  residence  may  be  palatial,  and  his  servants 
liveried;  yet,  unless  the  infected  district  is  healed  he  and 
his  stand  in  immediate  danger  of  being  infected  with  the 
same  disease.  For  as  the  germs  of  small  pox,  yellow 
fever  and  cholera  are  borne  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  and 
infect  all  on  whom  they  light,  so  the  deadly  germs  of 
moral  diseases  are  carried  on  the  wings  of  moral  winds 
and  will  infect  all  on  whom  they  fall. 

If  this  be  true,  and  we  feel  sure  that  it  is,  then  it  be- 
hooves every  man,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  from  a 
sense  of  self  preservation,  that  he  be  personally  inter- 
ested in  his  fellowman,  and  do  all  in  his  power  to  better 
his  condition.  For  there  is  no  more  vital  connection  be- 
tween a  chain  and  its  individual  links  than  there  is 
between  the  intellectual  and  influential  classes  of  a  town 
or  city,  or  of  a  body  politic,  and  the  most  humble  and 
degraded  classes. 

An  affection  of  the  hand  or  foot  affects  the  whole 
body;  and  so  does  an  affection  among  the  most  distant 
and  uninfluential  classes  in  a  community  affect  the  whole 
community.  Now,  if  the  colored  people  belong  to  these 
distant  and  uninfluential  classes,  and  are  affected  with 
licentiousness,  indolence,  thriftlessness,  crime,  these 
moral  maladies  will  surely  infect  the  entire  community 
unless  counteracted  and  removed  by  infusing  among 


220  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

them  wholesome  influences  which  must  be  conveyed  by 
loving  hands  and  sympathetic  hearts. 

Let  the  Negro  feel  that  he  is  wanted,  not  tolerated, 
that  he  is  loved,  not  pitied,  that  he  is  trusted,  not  doubted, 
that  he  is  believed,  not  questioned,  and  he  will  come  out  of 
the  slough  and  undergo  a  transformation  in  social,  intel- 
lectual and  moral  reform  which  will  be  both  a  surprise  and 
an  encouragement  to  all  who  are  interested  in  his  eleva- 
tion. Let  the  obstacles  which  now  impede  the  Negro's 
progress  be  removed,  and  there  be  given  to  him  the  same 
advantages  and  opportunities  for  improvement  that  are 
given  the  Scandinavian,  the  Russian,  the  Irishman,  or 
any  other  foreign-born  citizen,  and  he  will  go  forward  as 
rapidly  along  the  lines  of  social,  intellectual,  financial, 
and  moral  improvement  as  any  other  people. 

SECOND.     Too  GREAT   DISTANCE   BETWEEN   THE   WHITE 
AND   COLORED   PEOPLE. 

The  fact  is,  there  is  too  great  distance  between  the 
white  and  colored  people  of  this  country.  Too  much 
time  is  given  to  the  criticism  of  each  other's  short 
comings,  and  too  little  to  the  commending  of  each  other's 
virtues.  Especially  is  this  true  of  the  white  people  in 
their  attitude  towards  the  colored.  And  the  reason  is, 
because  of  the  difference  in  the  opportunities  of  the  two 
people.  The  one  has  had  centuries  of  improvement, 
while  the  other  only  since  the  war;  and  even  in  that 
short  time  their  opportunities  have  been  very  much  cur- 
tailed and  abridged.  Now,  it  is  most  natural,  if  one 
should  remember  the  fact,  that  the  school  which  the 
Negro  had  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  was  such  as 
would  only  engender  vice,  and  that  his  opportunities  for 
improvement  since  freedom  were  not  commensurate  with 
his  wants,  and  nothing  in  comparison  with  those  of  the 
whites,  that  only  his  most  objectionable  features  could 
be  seen  by  such  a  one,  notwithstanding  the  phenomenal 
progress  he  has  made  along  all  lines  of  social,  intellectual, 
financial  and  moral  reforms  within  the  last  thirty  years. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  221 

Now,  if  one's  prejudice  towards  a  people  is  such  that 
he  is  blinded  to  their  virtues  he  is  sure  in  his  thoughts 
and  actions  towards  them  to  hold  up  their  vices.  This 
accounts  for  the  contemptible  treatment  which  the  Negro 
often  receives  from  many  otherwise  good  people,  men 
and  women,  who  are  considered  a  benefit  to  the  com- 
munity, real  benefactors,  not  unfrequently  officials  high 
in  the  church  of  Christ,  who  is  no  respecter  of  persons, 
and  even  ministers  of  the  gospel. 

The  man  or  the  woman  who  has  no  respect  for  the 
manhood  of  the  Negro  is  his  worst  enemy,  no  matter 
how  much  he  may  profess  to  be  his  friend;  for  all  that  a 
man  has  that  is  of  real  worth  to  him  is  his  manhood. 
Deprive  him  of  this  and  you  make  him  a  brute.  He  may 
be  most  elegantly  clothed  and  richly  fed,  his  manners 
may  be  most  courtly,  but  if  he  has  no  manhood,  if  there 
is  nothing  in  him  of  real  native  worth,  no  Godlike  quali- 
ties, he  is  nothing  more  than  a  cultivated  animal,  such  as 
may  be  seen  in  the  highly-bred  racer  or  the  acting  dog  or 
ass  of  the  circus. 

THIRD.     UNMANLY   NEGROES. 

And  there  are  too  many  Negroes,  we  are  sorry  to  say, 
who  help  to  make  this  impression;  who  act  in  a 
way  that  only  tends  to  confirm  the  class  referred  to  in  the 
opinion  which  they  have  of  the  Negro;  mere  fools, 
sycophants,  and  charlatans,  who,  together  with  those 
around  whom  they  fawn  and  by  whom  they  are  despised, 
are  doing  more  to  obstruct  the  progress  of  the  race  than 
all  that  is  being  done  to  help  it  forward.  And  what  is 
worse,  those  unmanly  Negroes  are  not  confined  to  the 
ignorant  and  unlettered  class,  but  many  of  them  are 
educated,  having  graduated  at  some  of  our  best  schools 
and  colleges,  a  few  of  whom  are  occupying  places  of 
honor  and  trust  within  the  gift  of  the  State  and  nation. 
And  yet,  notwithstanding  their  advantages  and  positions, 
they  act  in  a  way  that  is  most  humiliating  and  belittling, 


222  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

and  standing  as  they  do  often  as  the  representatives  of 
the  race,  they  give  the  impression  that  not  only  are  they 
devoid  of  all  principle  and  manly  character,  but  that  the 
race  is  as  well. 

Such  Negroes  we  despise  with  all  the  energy  of  our 
being;  we  hate  them  with  a  righteous  hatred,  and  if  we 
could  eliminate  them  from  the  rest  of  the  race,  and  con- 
sign them  to  some  region  where  their  evil  influence  and 
example  could  not  be  felt  it  would  give  us  a  sense  of  the 
greatest  satisfaction  and  relief. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

COMPELLED  TO   RESORT  TO    SEVERE   MEASURES 
TO   GAIN   RESPECT. 

It  is  because  of  the  impression  which  these  Negroes 
make  and  the  impression  which  is  generally  entertained 
towards  the  colored  people  of  the  United  States,  that 
has  caused  us  to  resent  every  attempt  to  belittle  or  to 
reflect  upon  our  manhood.  Not  because  of  our  own 
personal  feelings  merely,  for  as  before  stated,  in  these 
pages,  so  far  as  we  are  concerned,  personally,  we  care 
but  little  and  the  insult  or  implication  might  have  been 
suffered  to  pass  unnoticed;  but  as  the  representative  of 
a  church,  as  well  as  a  representaive  of  eight  millions  of 
people,  whose  manhood  was  being  assailed,  we  felt  it 
our  duty  to  resent  every  reflection  upon  our  manhood, 
whether  made  by  friend  or  foe.  For  nothing  was  more 
evident  than  that  heroic  measures  were  needed  to  coun- 
teract views,  which  were  being  entertained  concerning 
the  manhood  of  the  Negro.  Hence  when  we  entered 
upon  the  work  of  soliciting  funds  for  the  purchase  of 
a  lot,  and  the  erection  of  a  building  for  the  Berean  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Philadelphia,  we  resolved  from  the 
very  first  that  we  would  disabuse  the  minds  of  all,  that 
we  were  a  Reverend  colored  beggar,  who  goes  around 
asking  assistance  for  his  poor  colored  brethren,  and,  who 
receives  most  thankfully  and  satisfactorily  any  amount 
from  ten  cents  to  a  dollar,  which  the  charitably  disposed 
might  be  inclined  to  give. 

From  the  very  first  we  gave  all  to  understand,  not  in 
a  braggadocio  manner,  but  in  a  humble,  sincere,  Chris- 
tian spirit,  that  we  were  a  Presbyterian  minister,  having 
behind  us  the  great  Presbyterian  Church,  and  having 

223 


224  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

passed  through  the  same  schools  of  learning,  we  were 
therefore  entitled  to  the  same  generous  assistance,  and 
cordial  fellowship,  as  was  given  to  any  new  enterprise 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Presbytery. 

Accordingly  when  we  commenced  soliciting  subscrip- 
tions if  there  would  be  sent  to  us  by  the  lady  or  gentle- 
man of  the  house,  as  we  stood  in  the  vestibule  or  hall, 
(those  days  we  were  seldom  admitted  beyond  the  vesti- 
bule or  hall),  twenty-five  or  fifty  cents,  or  even  a  dollar, 
we  would  ask  for  an  interview  with  the  donor,  in  order 
to  explain  the  nature  of  our  enterprise,  and  if  this 
was  not  granted,  we  would  then  return  the  coin  to  the 
waiter,  with  the  request  that  he  should  give  the  contri- 
butor our  compliments,  and  say,  that  we  were  not  in 
want,  and  therefore,  were  not  receiving  alms,  and  that 
we  were  sorry  that  they  did  not  take  the  time,  nor  the 
pains  to  examine  our  papers,  so  as  to  know  who  we 
were,  and  the  nature  of  our  enterprise. 

A  WEALTHY  LADY. 

A  case  in  hand  was  at  the  home  of  one  of  the  oldest 
and  most  aristocratic  families  in  the  country.  The  per- 
son was  a  widow,  and  she  and  her  husband  were  both 
known  throughout  our  church  for  their  great  liberality, 
and  especially  along  the  lines  of  church  extension  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  Having  such  a  reputation  we 
naturally  expected  encouragement  when  we  called  at  her 
house. 

It  was  on  a  bright,  spring  morning  when  we  called. 
A  big  burly  Irishman  answered  at  the  door.  "Is  Mrs. 

in,"  we  asked.  "Yes,  she's  an."  "Can  I  see  her?" 

we  asked  further.  Faith  an'  I  dono,  I'll  see."  Be  kind 
enough  to  hand  her  this  letter  of  introduction."  In  a 
few  moments  he  came  down  with  25  cents  between  his 
thumb  and  finger,  "Missis  told  me  to  tell  you  that  this 
is  all  she  can  do  for  ye  this  time,"  he  said,  at  the  same 
time  handing  us  the  twenty-five  cents.  "What,"  we 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  225 

said,  "did  she  read  my  letter?"  we  queried.  "Faith  and 
I  dono."  "Please  go  up  and  ask  if  she  won't  come  down 
and  see  me,  because  I  know  she  don't  know  the  nature  of 
my  enterprise,"  we  said.  "Faith  an'  I  will  do  nothing  of 
the  kind,"  he  replied,  at  the  same  time  moving  toward 
the  door  to  have  us  go.  "Will  you  not  take  up  my  sub- 
scription book  to  her?"  we  pleaded.  "No,  and  I  will  not 
do  that,  eather,"  he  retorted  in  his  Hibernian  brogue. 
"Then,"  we  said,  "take  this  twenty-five  cents  and  re- 
turn it  to  Mrs.  -  —  with  my  compliments,  and  say 
to  her  for  me  that  I  am  not  receiving  twenty-five  cents." 

The  fellow  took  it  with  a  contemptuous  grin,  and  then 
opened  the  door  and  slammed  it  after  us.  After  we  left 
we  said  to  ourselves:  "That  chuckle-headed  Irishman  is 
now  laughing  at  our  expense,  and  the  chances  are  that  he 
will  not  deliver  our  message  to  Mrs.  -  — ,  but  will 
take  the  twenty-five  cents  and  spend  it  on  cigars  or  beer." 
The  thought  came  to  us  like  a  flash,  "write  her." 

No  sooner  the  thought  than  we  went  deliberately 

home  and  wrote  thus:  "Dear  Mrs. : — I  am  very 

sorry  that  I  felt  obliged  when  at  your  residence  this 
morning  to  return  you  the  twenty-five  cents  which  you 
kindly  sent  down  to  me  by  your  waiter.  I  did  it  out  of 
kindness  and  consideration  for  you.  For  I  was  certain 
you  had  not  taken  the  pains  to  read  my  letter  of  recom- 
mendation of  myself  and  work,  but  thought  simply  that  1 
was  one  of  the  many  unfortunate  who  ask  for  alms  at 
your  door.  I  am  certain  from  your  reputation  as  a  phil- 
anthropist, had  you  known  I  was  recommended  by  some 
of  the  most  eminent  and  substantial  gentlemen  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  clerical  and  laymen,  and  that  a  num- 
ber of  friends  had  contributed  most  liberally  towards  the 
enterprise,  who  are  friends  of  yours,  some  of  whom  are 
your  immediate  neighbors,  as  for  example  Dr.  -  — , 
$500;  Mr.  C.  -  — ,  $500;  Mrs.  -  — ,  $75;  Miss  M. 

,  $100,  some  of  whom  are  friends  who  live  in  your 

square  and  who  attend  your  church,  I  say  I  am  sure  if 
15 


226  PRESB YTERIANISM. 

you  had  known  these  facts  you  would  not  have  sent  me 
twenty-five  cents.  I  wanted  the  waiter  to  ask  you  to 
come  down  and  see  me,  or  take  up  to  you  my  subscrip- 
tion book,  but  he  positively  refused. 

Hoping  to  hear  from  you  at  your  convenience,  I  am 
Yours  with  regret, 

MATTHEW  ANDERSON, 

Pastor  Berean  Church. 

The  next  morning  we  received  a  letter  from  Mrs. 

thanking  us  for  writing  her,  and  with  her  check  enclosed 
for  twenty-five  dollars,  and  desired  us  to  let  her  know 
from  time  to  time  how  we  were  getting  along.  From 

that  time  until  her  death  Mrs.  was  one  of  our 

best  friends.     It  may  be  of  interest  to  state  that  the 

next  time  we  called  at  Mrs. 's  house  our  Irishman 

did  not  answer  the  door. 

A   PENNSYLVANIA   RAILROAD   OFFICIAL. 

Another  case  in  hand  is  in  reference  to  a  gentleman 
who  was,  and  is  still,  in  the  management  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad.  We  called  at  this  gentleman's  residence 
late  one  summer  afternoon.  He  was  sitting  in  his  shirt 
sleeves  reading  a  newspaper  at  the  head  of  the  stairway 
leading  from  the  entry  where  he  could  both  see  us  and 
hear  our  message. 

Hearing  his  name  mentioned  he  sprang  up  and  came 
down  like  a  flash,  and  accosted  us  thus:  "Well,  what 
do  you  want?"  We  told  him  as  politely  and  as  meekly 
as  we  could  that  we  were  soliciting  subscriptions  for  the 
purchase  of  a  lot  and  the  erection  of  a  building  for  the 
Berean  Presbyterian  Church.  "Oh,  I  see,"  he  said,  "you 
are  begging  for  a  church."  He  then  rushed  to  the  door 
and  threw  it  open,  and  then  in  the  most  brutish  manner 
ordered  us  out,  at  the  same  time  raising  his  foot  to  add 
emphasis  to  his  demand. 

If  we  had  been  a  dog,  which  had  strayed  into  his  resi- 
dence, we  could  not  have  been  driven  out  more  roughly. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  227 

Never  in  all  our  experience  in  church  work  up  to  this 
time  had  we  anything  done  to  us  which  so  wounded  our 
feelings.  For  some  time  after  leaving  his  house  we 
were  dazed  and  walked  listlessly  around,  hardly  knowing 
what  to  do  or  where  to  go,  we  were  feeling  so  badly 
over  the  cruel  manner  in  which  we  had  been  treated. 

We  said,  "Why  should  we  who  have  been  laboring  so 
arduously  and  conscientiously  in  the  interest  of  Christ  be 
subjected  to  such  treatment?  What  have  we  done  that 
we  should  be  thus  cruelly  used?  Have  we  not  been 
called  of  God  to  this  work?  Have  we  not  undergone  the 
required  preparation  for  it?  Have  we  not  the  endorse- 
ment of  the  Presbytery  and  the  brethren  generally?  Am 
I  not  this  man's  equal  so  far  as  natural  and  acquired  abil- 
ity is  concerned?  And  if  so  should  I  allow  this  gross  in- 
sult to  go  unrebuked?  Should  I  suffer  a  man  to  go  unre- 
buked  who  will  with  impunity  insult  one  who  calls  upon 
him,  even  though  he  may  be  an  educated  and  refined 
gentleman  if  his  God  had  been  pleased  to  clothe  him  in  a 
livery  bronze??  No!  No!!  No!!!  a  thousand  times  no,  we 
answered ;  that  man  must  be  rebuked,  though  it  may  cost 
us  every  friend  we  have  gained. 

No  sooner  decided  than  we  went  home  immediately 
to  our  study  and  wrote  him  a  letter  as  follows: 
"My  Dear  Mr.  -        — : 

"It  is  with  mingled  pain  and  regret  that  I  write  you 
this  evening.  Pain  because  I  feel  wounded  over  the 
cruel  manner  in  which  you  treated  me  this  afternoon  at 
your  residence;  regret  that  I  was  so  stupid  not  to  have 
known  more  about  you  before  I  called. 

"Let  me  assure  you,  my  dear  sir,  that  had  I  known  the 
kind  of  a  man  you  are  I  never  would  have  crossed  your 
threshold.  Situated  as  you  are,  occupying  a  most  promi- 
nent place  in  the  management  of  one  of  the  greatest  cor- 
porations in  the  world,  I  naturally  supposed  that  you 
would  be  interested  in  every  public  reform,  and  therefore 
that  I  would  find  in  you  a  sympathetic  friend  and  a 


228  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

ready  supporter  of  my  enterprise;  and  even  if  you  had 
nothing  to  give  I  thought  you  would  at  least  treat  me 
and  my  work  with  consideration. 

"Let  me  say,  my  dear  sir,  that  I  have  been  in  Philadel- 
phia now  over  five  years;  in  that  time  I  have  mingled 
among  all  classes,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  and  in 
all  my  experience  of  soliciting  subscriptions  in  this  city 
I  have  not  had  a  single  man  in  all  this  time  who  has 
treated  me  as  contemptuously  as  the  treatment  which  I 
received  from  you  this  afternoon. 

"There  was  no  occasion  whatever  for  this  treatment, 
for  there  was  nothing  about  my  dress  or  action,  or  in 
anything  that  I  said,  which  would  warrant  it.  If  you 
had  been  courteous  enough  to  have  examined  my  papers 
and  books  you  would  have  seen  that  some  of  the  hearti- 
est endorsers,  both  of  myself  and  my  enterprise,  are  gen- 
tlemen of  high  standing  in  this  city,  some  of  them  known 
throughout  the  country,  several  of  them  being  neighbors 
of  yours,  and  who  have  backed  their  endorsement  with 
liberal  subscriptions. 

"Mr.  ,  may  I  be  pardoned    for  the    assertion, 

should  I  be  wrong,  I  am  constrained  to  feel  that  you  be- 
long to  that  class  of  white  men,  of  whom  there  is  a  large 
number  in  this  country,  who  look  with  contempt  upon 
every  man  who  is  clad  in  a  canopy  of  black,  and  who  feel 
that  no  Negro  has  any  rights  which  they  are  bound  to 
respect;  men  whose  souls  are  so  small  that  five  hundred 
of  them  can  dance  upon  the  point  of  a  cambric  needle. 
For  no  man  would  ruthlessly  insult  a  gentleman  who 
calls  upon  him  at  his  home  unless  he  has  a  soul  of  micro- 
scopic dimensions. 

"Hoping  to  hear  from  you  at  your  convenience,  I  am 
"Yours  with  regret, 

"MATTHEW  ANDERSON, 

"Pastor  Berean  Church." 

In  the  course  of  two  weeks  we  received  a  response 
from  Mr. ,  which  in  substance  read  as  follows: 


ITS  RELA  TION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  229 

"Dear  Mr.  Anderson: — 

"I  regret  the  unhappy  episode  which  took  place  when 
you  called  at  my  house.  It  was  caused  by  the  unseemly 
time  you  called,  it  being  quite  late,  or  at  least  after  the 
time  persons  usually  call  in  the  interest  of  charity.  Then, 
besides,  I  have  been  very  much  annoyed  of  late  by  a 
certain  colored  man,  who  claims  to  be  begging  for  a 
church,  but  who,  my  waiters  say  (having  investigated  the 
case  for  me),  is  an  impostor,  and  unfortunately  he  is  just 
your  build  and  color,  and  really  I  thought  you  were  he. 

"I  am  interested  in  every  moral  reform,  and  especially 
in  our  city,  and  do  contribute  according  to  my  ability 
to  worthy  charities.  Now,  if  you  will  call  at  my  office, 
233  South  Fourth  street,  any  forenoon  I  will  take  the 
time  to  examine  your  papers  and  books,  and  if  convinced 
that  it  is  a  worthy  cause,  I  will  take  pleasure  in  contribut- 
ing towards  it. 

"I  am  very  respectfully, 


We  were  now  in  a  quandary  to  know  what  to  do.  We 
had  bearded  the  lion  in  his  den  and  had  conquered.  "Had 
we  not  better  let  well  enough  alone,"  we  said ;  "we  are  on 
top  now;  we  may  be  underneath  if  we  go  to  his  office 
and  be  badly  beaten."  Pride  asserted  itself.  We  felt 
high,  and  we  don't  know  but  for  a  few  hours  that  we  felt 
big  in  our  boots. 

But  on  a  sober  second  thought  we  asked  ourselves  the 
question:  "Why  did  I  write  Mr.  -  -  that  letter?  Was 
it  to  wound  his  feelings?  Give  railing  for  railing,  tooth 
for  a  tooth,  and  an  eye  for  an  eye,  and  thus  get  even  with 
him?  Or  was  it  to  cause  him  to  stop  and  think,  see  his 
error  and  turn  and  do  his  duty  as  a  Christian  gentleman 
and  a  brother  towards  his  fellow  man?  This  he  has 
already  expressed  a  willingness  to  do.  Should  we  not 
then  assist  him  to  carry  out  his  purpose?  Should  we 
not  meet  him  half  way?  Most  assuredly  we  should," 
we  said,  and  at  once  went  to  his  office. 


230  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

He  received  us  kindly,  and  after  having  carefully  ex- 
amined our  papers  he  gave  us  his  check  for  fifteen  dol- 
lars, and  expressed  his  regret  that  he  could  not  do  better, 
but  he  hoped  that  he  might  help  us  further  in  the 

future.     Mr. has  been  a  friend  of  ours  ever  since, 

having  on  several  occasions  assisted  us  over  the  road. 

A  YOUNG  ARISTOCRATIC   WOMAN. 

In  order  to  reach  the  greatest  number  of  friends  possi- 
ble we  carried  with  us  a  number  of  books  marked  to  re- 
ceive subscriptions  of  different  amounts.  For  example, 
we  had  a  five  dollar  book,  a  fifty  dollar  book,  a  hundred 
dollar  book  and  a  five  hundred  dollar  book.  If  we 
called  on  a  rich  man,  and  he  had  the  reputation  of  being 
benevolent,  we  would  show  him  first  the  five  hundred 
dollar  book;  and  if  this  was  too  large  then  a  three  hun- 
dred dollar  book,  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollar  book, 
the  two  hundred  dollar  book  or  the  one  hundred  dollar 
book,  as  the  case  might  be. 

We  had  heard  of  a  wealthy  business  man  in  West  Phil- 
adelphia, and  it  was  suggested  that  it  might  be  well  for 
us  to  call,  as  he  was  said  to  be  a  very  nice  man. 

Acting  upon  the  suggestion,  one  very  beautiful  spring 
morning  we  called  at  his  residence,  but  finding  no  one 
at  home  but  the  servants  and  a  daughter,  we  concluded 
to  make  known  the  object  of  our  visit  to  his  daughter. 

The  young  lady  was  a  beautiful  girl,  tall,  graceful, 
lovely  features,  highly  cultivated  and  most  elegantly 
dressed. 

She  received  us  most  kindly  and  listened  attentively  to 
our  story.  "You  are  engaged  in  a  most  excellent  work, 
Mr.  Anderson,"  she  replied.  "And  I  am  sure  that  it  ap- 
peals to  the  hearts  of  all  Christians,  irrespective  of  de- 
nomination, and  especially  ought  it  to  appeal  to  the 
Presbyterians.  I  shall  help  you,  Mr.  Anderson,  for  I 
never  suffer  a  cause  like  this  of  yours  to  pass  by  without 
rendering  it  some  assistance." 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  231 

And  then  stepping  to  the  foot  of  the  elegantly  carved 
stairway,  with  her  rich  en-train  Parisian  gown  lying  in 
graceful  folds  behind  her,  she  called  up  to  her  little  baby 
sister  thus:  "Baby,  drop  down  Sister's  purse;  her  shop- 
ping purse,  darling;  you  will  find  it  in  Sister's  room." 

When  we  heard  shopping  purse  we  said  Oh!  Oh!! 
Oh!!!  that  means  twenty-five  cents,  certain. 

Sure  enough  when  the  purse  was  picked  up  from 
where  Baby  dropped  it  the  young  lady  went  over  the 
change  in  her  purse  and  picked  out  with  her  little  deli- 
cate fingers  most  deftly  the  ubiquitous  twenty-five  cents, 
the  amount  the  religious  communities  usually  give  to  all 
Rev.  colored  beggars. 

"Here,  Mr.  Anderson,  is  twenty-five  cents,  which  I 
give  you  most  willingly  to  help  you  in  your  most  ex- 
cellent work."  The  ludicrous  side  of  the  thing  now 
stood  out  in  such  bold  outlines  that  we  could  hardly 
keep  our  equilibrium.  However,  we  steeled  ourselves, 
bowed  our  thanks  most  gracious!y,  and  put  it  in  our 
purse.  Then  taking  our  five  hundred  dollar  book  out 
of  our  pocket  said:  "Miss  -  — ,  please  be  kind  enough 
to  write  your  name  and  the  amount  which  you  have  so 
kindly  contributed." 

Thinking,  of  course,  that  it  was  the  usual  Rev.  col- 
ored beggar's  subscription  book,  she  took  it  to  record 
her  name.  But  when  she  saw  the  amount  which  the 
book  called  for  her  countenance  fell  and  she  said:  "Oh, 
Mr.  Anderson,  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  record  my 
name."  "Oh,  yes,"  we  said,  "I  am  compelled  to  keep  a 
scrupulously  correct  account  of  all  monies  I  raise,  the 
names  and  amounts  of  those  contributing,  and  the  dis- 
position made  of  the  money."  "No,  no,  Mr.  Anderson, 
I  cannot  record  my  name,"  she  pled.  "I  must  have  it 
recorded,  my  dear  Miss  -  — ,  for  my  own  self  protec- 
tion, and  if  you  will  not,  I  will  be  obliged  then  to  record 
it  myself."  "Write  it  cash,  then,"  she  said.  "I  am 
sorry,  Miss ,  but  I  must  write  the  name  in  full. 


232  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

We  then  wrote  in  a  bold  hand  under  a  five  hundred  dollar 
subscription  the  young  lady's  name  and  address,  and  the 
amount  she  contributed,  much  to  her  evident  embarrass- 
ment, and  then  bowed  ourselves  out  and  left. 

A  few  days  after  this  laughable  experience  we  called  at 
the  office  of  the  young  lady's  father.  The  old  gentle- 
man seemed  to  be  glad  to  see  us.  He  examined  all  of 
our  papers  and  books,  and  before  we  left  subscribed 
twenty-five  dollars,  and  expressed  the  hope  that  he 
would  be  able  to  do  more  before  we  would  get  through. 
The  daughter  evidently  had  told  him  of  her  experience. 

In  the  course  of  a  couple  of  years  we  called  at  this 
gentleman's  office  again.  We  found  his  son;  but  he,  to 
our  great  surprise  and  sorrow,  had  gone  to  his  reward 
above.  The  son  expressed  great  interest  in  our  enter- 
prise, and  wished  to  do  something  for  us.  "Mr.  Ander- 
son," he  said  finally,  "have  you  a  watch?"  "No,"  we  said, 
"I  never  owned  a  watch."  "Well,"  he  continued,  "if  you 
will  accept  it,  here  is  mine,"  pulling  a  most  excellent 
silver  watch  out  of  his  pocket,  one  of  Waltham's  best. 

But  when  we  politely  declined  the  offer,  on  the  ground 
that  we  'did  not  want  to  deprive  him  of  his  watch,  he 
said,  "Yes,  Mr.  Anderson,  you  must  take  it;  I  have 
fallen  heir  to  father's  gold  watch,  so  I  don't  really  need 
this." 

With  this  information  we  accepted  it,  with  thanks,  and 
it  has  been  our  constant  and  most  reliable  companion 
ever  since,  though  we  have  had  it  now  over  eleven  years. 
In  addition  to  this  watch  the  young  man  gave  us  a  large 
supply  of  writing  paper,  which  was  sufficient  to  supply 
all  of  our  wants  in  this  line  for  over  a  year.  We  could 
not  help  but  feel  as  we  were  leaving  this  young  man's 
office,  with  his  watch  and  supply  of  paper,  that  the  re- 
buke which  we  gently  administered  to  his  most  beautiful 
and  accomplished  sister  had  produced  most  excellent 
results. 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  233 

A   PHILANTHROPIST. 

We  will  mention  another  example  of  the  many  battles 
we  fought  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  to  compel  recogni- 
tion of  the  manhood  and  worth  of  the  Negro. 

Among  the  many  philanthropists  in  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia, who  had  a  world-wide  reputation  for  large 
heartedness  and  princely  gifts,  there  were  none  who  had 
the  reputation  of  Mr.  -  — .  He  was  the  ideal  man  of 
the  city;  rich,  progressive,  aspiring,  magnanimous,  public 
spirited,  generous,  kind,  a  man  whose  praises  were  upon 
every  tongue  and  whose  fame  had  reached  every  land. 

Mr.  -  -  entertained  like  Croesus.  The  literati  and 
great  of  every  land  on  visiting  our  shores  felt  that  their 
visit  would  be  incomplete  unless  they  paid  a  visit  to  the 
home  of  this  distinguished  son  of  our  commonwealth. 

Having  the  reputation  he  had  for  benevolence  we 
concluded  that  we  would  call  upon  him  for  a  contribu- 
tion for  our  enterprise. 

We  called  at  his  office  a  number  of  times,  before  we 
were  able  to  see  him.  We  finally  called  and  found  him  in, 
and  will  never  forget  the  withering  manner  in  which  he 
received  us.  We  had  sent  in  our  card,  and  had  been 
waiting  for  over  an  hour  for  an  interview.  Finally  he 
came  to  the  door  leading  to  his  outer  office  where  we 
were  seated  and  addressed  us  thus:  "Do  you  want  to 
see  me?"  We  bowed,  and  answered  in  the  affirmative, 
and  then  proceeded  as  rapidly  as  we  could  to  tell  the  na- 
ture of  our  mission  and  the  object  of  our  visit,  when  he 
cut  us  off  abruptly  with,  "Go  and  tell  Robert."  We  said 
to  ourselves,  "Who  is  Robert?"  Is  it  some  gentleman  who 
is  in  the  firm  with  Mr.  -  — ,  a  companion  and  equal?" 
we  queried  to  ourselves.  Very  soon  Robert  came  rub- 
bing his  hands  and  smiling  most  obsequiously,  "Mr. 
Anderson,  Mr.  -  -  sent  me  to  ascertain  what  you 
wished."  If  we  had  been  suddenly  smitten  with  blind- 
ness we  could  not  have  been  more  surprised.  And  this 
is  Robert,  a  member  (?)  of  the  firm,  and  the  friend  and 


234  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

companion  of  Mr.  .  Our  first  impulse  was  to 

leave  the  office  in  disgust 

But  on  second  thought  we  said,  "Goldsmith  stooped 
to  conquer,  and  why  not  we?"  No  sooner  thought  than 
we  at  once  changed  our  demeanor  and  gave  Robert  all 
the  details  of  our  work  and  our  wants.  He  went  in  and 
had  a  long  interview  with  Mr.  -  — .  When  he  came 
out  he  had  on  a  triumphant  look  and  handed  us  a  ten 
dollar  bill  with  Mr.  —  — 's  compliments.  We  took  it, 
thanked  him  kindly,  and  left,  but  we  Were  thoroughly 
disgusted,  not  at  Robert,  but  at  Mr. . 

"Why  should  he,  a  man,  noted  for  his  benevolence, 
speak  to  us  through  Robert,  his  untutored  servant,  who 
sweeps  and  dusts  his  office,  cleans  the  cuspidors  and 
does  the  menial  work  generally,  thought  we?  If  we 
had  been  a  white  clergyman,  or  a  white  man  of  standing 
of  any  persuasion  in  the  community,  and  had  called  to 

have  an  interview  with  Mr. ,  would  he  have  turned 

us  over  to  Robert?  Mr. is  a  public  man,  we  rea- 
soned, so  are  we.  He  is  a  great,  generous-hearted,  pub- 
lic-spirited business  man,  who  preaches  Christ,  so  do  we 
preach  Him,  but  in  a  less  ostentations  and  more  humble 
way.  But  is  not  our  mission  as  important,  and  the  peo- 
ple whom  we  represent,  as  much  entitled  to  Mr. 's 

attention,  as  any  high  sounding  object,  on  which  he 
has  bestowed  his  thousands?  Were  there  not  within 
our  church,  and  the  people  it  represents,  the  greatest 
possibilities?  He  should  be  told  about  it,  for  he  is  mak- 
ing the  mistake  of  his  life.  Why  not  write  him  we  said, 
for  he  is  nothing  more  than  a  man  like  ourselves,  and 
he  brought  no  more  in  and  will  take  no  more  out  of 
the  world,  when  he  dies  than  we." 

Besides  we  had  been  told  from  a  good  and  reliable 
source  that  Mr.  —  —  had  said  in  the  presence  of  a 
number  of  personal  friends,  that  his  usual  contributions 
to  Negro  Churches  were  ten  dollars,  and  that  he  never 
exceeded  twenty-five.  We  will  write  him,  we  said,  and 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  235. 

write  him  we  did.     The  substance  of  our  letter  was  as 

follows : 

Dear  Mr. : 

When  I  called  at  your  office  to  see  you  a  few  days 
since,  I  was  greatly  surprised  and  disappointed  when  you 
turned  me  over  to  Robert,  the  servant,  who  cleans  your 
office,  runs  your  errands  and  does  the  menial  work  gen- 
erally about  your  place.  Not  that  I  feel  myself  above 
Robert,  by  no  means;  I  know  him  personally,  he  is  a 
Christian  gentleman,  a  man  who  is  esteemed  and  re- 
spected by  all  who  know  him.  No,  it  was  not  because 
you  turned  me  over  to  Robert,  the  man,  that  I  resent, 
but  Robert,  the  servant,  a  thing  which  you  would  not 
have  deigned  to  do  a  white  minister  of  the  Gospel,  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  or  a  reputable  white  man  of  any 
persuasion. 

"I  am  black,  but  I  am  entitled  to  the  same  respectful 
and  gentlemanly  consideration  as  any  gentleman  that 
calls  at  your  office,  and  the  cause  I  represent  has  as  great 
claims  upon  your  personal  attention  and  liberality,  as  any 
to  which  you  have  responded.  I  regret  to  be  obliged 
to  write  you  thus,  but  my  feelings  were  greatly  wounded 
by  your  action,  for  I  felt,  and  do  still  feel>  that  it  was 
a  direct  thrust  at  the  people  whom  I  represent,  and  who 
are  now  making  a  most  manly  fight  to  rise. 

"Hoping  to  hear  from  you  at  your  convenience,  I  am 
"Yours  with  regret,  most  respectfully, 

"MATTHEW  ANDERSON, 
"Pastor  Berean  Presbyterian  Church." 

Mr.  —  -  did  not  honor  us  with  a  reply  to  our  letter, 
hence  we  soon  thought  that  like  many  such  let- 
ters, it  had  been  consigned  to  the  waste  basket, 
with  the  mental  reservation  that  both  the  writer  and 
the  cause  that  he  represented  should  have  no  further 
consideration,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned. 

But  in  the  course  of  a  year,  we  concluded  to  call  upon 
this  distinguished  philanthropist  again,  and  as  before  we 


236  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

sent  in  our  card.  In  a  few  minutes  he  appeared  in  the 
door  as  before,  but  a  most  radical  change  had  overcome 
him;  instead  of  giving  us  a  look  of  contempt,  as  hitherto, 
he  now  spoke  to  us  pleasantly  with  a  smile,  and  when  he 
learned  our  business,  he  returned  to  his  private  office, 
and  in  a  few  moments  returned,  and  with  a  smile,  handed 
us  his  check,  which  to  our  surprise,  was  for  one  hun- 
dred dollars,  and  at  the  same  time  expressed  the  hope 
that  we  would  succeed.  We  took  the  check,  and  im- 
pulsively took  him  by  the  hand  and  thanked  him  heartily 
and  left,  but  as  we  were  leaving,  the  words  of  Watts's 
came  ringing  in  our  ears, 

God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way, 
His  wonders  to  perform; 

He  plants  his  footsteps  in  the  sea, 
And  rides  upon  the  storm. 

A  GENTLEMEN. 

Sometime  after  this  we  called  upon  another  gentle- 
man, distinguished  for  his  philanthropy,  but  this  one 
was  a  Presbyterian  of  the  Presbyterians,  and  his  home 
was  a  mecca  for  distinguished  Presbyterian  gatherings, 
and  Presbyterians  generally;  and  as  he  held  a  controlling 
interest  in  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  his  influence  was 
widely  felt,  not  only  in  this  city,  but  throughout  the 
State  and  country. 

But  having  a  pronounced  hatred  for  all  Reverend 
Colored  Beggars,  he  gave  us  a  very  cool  reception,  for 
he  had  at  once  concluded  that  we  belonged  to  this 
species  of  the  genus  homo.  This  gentleman  was  both 
an  aristocrat  and  an  autocrat.  In  all  of  his  business, 
social  and  church  relations,  he  was  an  aristocrat  in  his 
bearing;  but  in  his  attitude  towards  the  poor,  and  Ne- 
groes, especially  in  his  attitude,  towards  those  calling 
upon  him  for  charity,  he  was  an  autocrat. 

In  our  case  he  brought  to  bear  all  the  autocracy  that 
he  had  in  reserve,  and  gave  us  such  an  overshadowing 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  237 

sense  of  his  awe  inspiring  presence,  that  for  the  mo- 
ment we  were  bewildered,  and  with  difficulty  told  the 
nature  of  our  mission.  Learning  that  we  wanted  a 
subscription  for  a  church,  "You  people,"  he  replied, 
"should  stop  your  begging;  you  should  pay  for  your  own 
churches,  and  not  scour  the  city  and  country  to  raise 
the  money  from  other  people." 

In  reply  to  us,  that  the  people  were  poor,  he  said,  "it 
is  largely  their  own  fault,  for  they  are  very  improvident; 
no  people  know  less  about  the  value  of  a  dollar  than 
they.  They  live  far  beyond  their  means,  or  from  hand  to 
mouth,  consequently  they  are  always  poor."  "That  is 
largely  true,"  we  said,  "but  it  is  chiefly  the  result  of  the 
schooling  which  we  have  received  in  your  Institution, 
the  National  University  of  American  Slavery.  We  are 
reaping  the  harvest  of  your  own  sowing,  and  if  the  fruit 
is  obnoxious  it  is  because  the  seed  was  obnoxious  which 
was  sown." 

Finding  that  he  was  unwilling  to  converse  on  the  sub- 
ject, we  attempted  to  change  the  conversation  by  re- 
ferring to  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  Negro,  and 
ventured  to  ask  whether  he  would  not  lend  his  great 
influence  in  assisting  to  remove  these  obstacles.  We  re- 
ferred him  to  the  fact,  that  so  far  as  we  could  learn,  the 
great  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  had  not  given  a  clerical 
position  to  a  single  colored  man,  out  of  the  thousands 
that  were  in  its  employ  all  over  the  country,  although 
there  were  many  who  were  in  every  way  competent  to  fill 
such  positons."  "To  my  personal  knowledge,"  I  said, 
"there  were  young  colored  men,  who  were  employed  in 
sweeping  the  offices,  and  cleaning  the  cuspidors  at  the 
general  headquarters  of  the  company,  in  Philadelphia, 
who  were  graduates  of  high  schools  and  colleges,  simply 
because  the  company  was  not  willing  to  give  them  em- 
ployment at  anything  else."  "It  is  not  the  company's  fault 
sir,"  he  curtly  replied,  "Your  people  have  been  placed 
bv  Providence  in  a  certain  niche,  and  in  that  niche  they 


238  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

have  to  work  out  their  own  salvation,  and  they  should 
be  content." 

Finding  our  artillery  too  light  for  his  coat  of  mail, 
we  retreated  to  the  quiet  fastnesses  of  our  study,  where 
after  due  reflection  we  concluded  to  write  him,  and  at 
once  sent  him  the  following  letter: 

1926  So.  Col.  Ave.,  Phila.,  Sept.  6th,  1888. 
Mr. , 

Dear  Sir: 

I  have  thought  so  much  about  the  conversation  I  had 
with  you  yesterday  morning,  and  especially  the  asser- 
tion that  the  colored  people  should  be  content  with  the 
niche  in  which  they  have  been  dropped,  that  I  take  the 
liberty  to  express  myself  further  on  the  subject. 

Experience  teaches  me,  Mr.  ,  that  there  is  no 

state  more  hurtful  to  one,  than  that  which  you  would 
have  the  colored  poeple  to  cultivate,  viz.:  contentment 
with  the  niche  in  which  they  happen  to  have  fallen. 
The  fact  is  this  teaching,  of  being  content  with  our  lot, 
has  been  the  curse  of  the  Negro,  and  the  chief  cause 
of  all  of  his  oppressions  and  wrongs,  and  the  weak  and 
pitiable  condition  in  which  he  is  yet  in,  and  the  same 
condition  would  be  true  of  any  people,  if  this  line  of  ar- 
gument was  pursued  for  centuries  by  their  superiors. 

There  is  a  contentment  I  grant  which  is  praiseworthy ; 
it  is  the  contentment  of  which  the  scriptures  speak,  the 
contentment  which  every  man  should  exercise  in  the  lot 
or  work  to  which  God  has  called  him.  For  example,  the 
boy  on  the  farm  ought  not  to  chafe  over  the  fact  that  he 
is  poor,  that  his  wages  are  small,  or  that  he  cannot  dress 
as  finely  as  some  other  boy,  but  he  should  resolve  to 
work  steadily,  thoroughly  and  contentedly  not  merely  for 
the  wages,  but  for  the  good  derived  to  himself,  and  with 
the  object  before  him  that,  some  day  by  industry  and 
economy,  he  might  be  the  owner,  if  not  of  that  farm, 
another  farm,  and  possibly  farms.  Likewise  he  who  is 
employed  in  digging  and  grading  the  road  beds  of  the 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  239 

great  railroad  systems  of  this  country,  or  in  sweeping 
out  the  offices  of  the  same,  ought  not  to  fret  because  he 
is  not  one  of  the  officers,  but  he  should  work  contentedly 
with  the  hope  that  one  day  he  would  hold  a  controlling 
interest  in  the  same.  Such  contentment  as  this  is  health- 
ful, it  is  manly,  Godlike. 

But  the  contentment  which  has  been  generally  urged 
upon  the  colored  people,  viz.,  to  be  content  in  a  condi- 
tion which  offers  nothing  higher,  is  the  contentment  of 
the  ox  or  the  ass,  and  is  filled  with  decay  and  rottenness ; 
and  whenever  an  individual  or  a  people  have  been  in- 
duced to  accept  it  there  will  be  seen  a  corresponding  evi- 
dence of  decay,  or  a  lack  of  progress. 

There  is  nothing  which  gives  me  more  inexpressible 
pleasure  as  I  pass  up  and  down  the  streets  of  our  city,  or 
cross  the  country,  than  the  great  commercial  houses 
and  manufacturing  establishments  on  every  side.  I 
view  with  delight  the  great  buildings  which  are  now  in 
course  of  construction  in  almost  every  part  of  our  great 
city,  and  I  inquire  by  what  means  such  great  wealth  has 
been  gathered  by  which  these  great  massive  piles  are 
raised;  and  on  every  side  there  are  pointed  out  to  me 
men  who  are  Croesus-like  in  wealth;  men  who  a  little 
while  ago  were  poor  boys,  occupying  some  of  the  most 
menial  positions  in  life,  but  who  by  dint  of  perseverance 
and  economy,  and  by  having  an  equal  chance,  have  be- 
come the  great,  opulent,  commercial,  manufacturing  and 
railroad  kings  that  they  are  to-day. 

There  was  no  name  more  familiar  at  my  home,  in 
Franklin  county,  Pa.,  than  that  of  Tom  Scott,  as  he  was 
familiarly  called  there.  The  story  of  his  boyhood  in  his 
humble  home  above  Upton,  his  poverty,  his  engagement 
by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  and  his  gradual  rise  until 
he  became  the  successful  and  honored  President  of  this 
great  corporation  was  held  up  by  the  fond  parents  in  the 
neighborhood  of  his  birth  to  be  emulated  by  their  chil- 
dren, and  to-day  as  I  pass  over  any  part  of  this  great 


240  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

railroad  and  view  the  immense  traffic  which  it  is  carry- 
ing on,  the  vast  property  which  it  owns,  and  especially 
the  ramifications  of  its  branches  into  nearly  every  part 
of  the  Union,  I  can  see  the  spirit  of  Tom  Scott,  as  he 
was  familiarly  called  by  his  old  companions,  still  march- 
ing on,  though  incarnate,  in  those  who  are  now  mana- 
ging the  road. 

I  had  the  pleasure  the  other  day  to  sit  on  a  seat  in  a 
train  beside  one  of  the  oldest  living  postmasters  of  the 
Philadelphia  Post  Office,  from  Philadelphia  to  Atlantic 
City,  and  he  told  me  the  story  of  his  life.  Fifty  years 
ago  he  was  a  poor  boy  in  this  city;  his  parents,  with  six 
children,  lived  in  two  rooms.  He  was  employed  at  the 
post  office  to  sweep  it  out,  empty  the  spittoons,  etc. 
But  while  in  this  position  he  studied  hard  to  fit  himself 
for  a  more  lucrative  position,  that  of  a  clerk,  and  he  se- 
cured it.  His  next  ambition  was  to  be  a  mail  agent. 
This  he  also  secured,  and  finally  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  post  master.  He  is  now  an  aged  gentleman  and 
is  living  off  the  income  of  his  means. 

Now,  if  he  had  been  content  with  his  lot  of  sweeping 
out  the  office  and  washing  out  spittoons,  he  never  would 
have  been  postmaster  of  Philadelphia,  or  enjoyed  the 
comforts  he  does. 

The  same  would  have  been  true  of  Mr.  Thomas  Scott, 
and  all  other  successful  men  of  our  city  and  State,  whom 
we  love  to  honor.  I  argue,  therefore,  that  just  so  far 
as  the  colored  people  are  made  to  feel  that  they  must  be 
content  with  their  position  in  the  sense  that  there  is  no 
higher  position  for  them,  however  much  they  may  be 
qualified  for  the  same,  just  so  far  will  their  progress  be 
thwarted. 

And  further,  just  so  far  as  the  colored  youths,  who  are 
now  being  educated  in  all  our  schools  and  colleges,  as 
you  admitted  yesterday,  are  made  to  feel  that  the  avenues 
which  are  open  to  the  white  youths,  with  whom  they  sit 
side  by  side,  at  school,  and  the  avenues  to  the  more  lucra- 


• 


,5.»,;     *. '. 


HKRKAN    COTTACiK, 

Point  Pleasant,  N.  J. 


ITS  RELATION  TO   THE  NEGRO.  241 

tive  walks  of  life  are  closed  to  them,  they  will  be  sure 
to  turn  their  attention  to  the  whiskey  saloon,  the  card 
table,  the  filthy  haunts  of  vice,  if  not  prove  a  still  more 
deadly  foe  to  the  good  of  society. 

I  listen  with  a  shudder  to  the  arguments  advanced  by 
gentlemen,  like  yourself,  in  regard  to  the  colored  people, 
for  I  see  the  terrible  whirlwind  you  are  sure  to  reap. 
In  a  Republican  government  like  ours,  every  man  should 
have  an  equal  chance  to  rise.  He  should  be  content 
with  his  lot,  but  his  contentment  should  be  that  of  a 
student  who  is  only  content  to  remain  in  a  certain  posi- 
tion, till  he  is  qualified  for  a  higher. 

Hoping  that  you  will  pardon  me  for  addressing  you, 
and  thus  encroaching  upon  your  valuable  time,  I  am, 

Yours  truly, 

MATTHEW  ANDERSON, 
Pastor  Berean  Presbyterian  Church. 

This  gentleman  has  since  died  and  gone  to  his  re- 
ward, but  I  am  happy  to  state  that    before    he    passed 
away  he  contributed  $30  to  the  Berean  Church. 
ORGANIZING  A  BUILDING  AND  LOAN  ASSOCIATION. 

We  will  give  one  more  example.  One  of  the  first 
things  which  greatly  surprised  and  chagrined  us  on 
coming  to  Philadelphia,  the  City  of  Brotherly  Love,  (?) 
was  the  difficulty  the  colored  people  experienced  in  se- 
curing desirable  homes.  That  they  should  occupy  only 
certain  districts,  and  these  districts  being  situated  gen- 
erally in  what  are  designated  the  slums,  or  the  most  un- 
inviting of  the  small  streets,  seemed  to  have  been  agreed 
upon  by  the  landlords  generally.  And  from  this  decis- 
ion, namely,  that  the  colored  people  should  be  relegated 
to  the  slums,  there  seemed  to  be  no  redress.  The  good 
and  bad,  the  pure  and  corrupt,  the  refined  and  vulgar, 
the  educated  and  ignorant,  were  as  by  the  laws  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians,  compelled  to  dwell  together.  And 
as  a  result  our  people  were  being  insulted  all  over  the 
city,  whenever  they  attempted  to  get  desirable  homes. 
16 


242  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

Any  unintelligent  and  rude  real  estate  agent  would  think 
nothing  about  saying  to  a  respectable  colored  woman 
or  man,  inquiring  about  the  rent  of  a  house  in  a  desir- 
able neighborhood,  that  "that  house  can  not  be  rented 
to  colored  people;"  or  "we  have  no  houses  for  colored 
people;"  or  "it  would  be  an  insult  to  the  white  neighbors 
to  rent  that  house  to  a  colored  family."  And  what  made 
it  still  more  discouraging  there  were  but  few  colored  peo- 
ple, who  once  having  rented,  had  accumulated  sufficient 
funds  to  purchase  their  own  homes.  Seeing  the  situation 
we  resolved  to  do  what  we  could  to  relieve  them  from 
this  deplorable  condition.  We  had  thought  of  many 
schemes.  One  was  to  labor  to  have  a  law  passed  com- 
pelling landlords  to  rent  their  property  to  all  classes  ir- 
respective of  race,  color  or  previous  condition.  But  we 
soon  found  that  this  was  impracticable,  and  that  we  would 
be  defeated  in  our  efforts.  We  finally  saw  that  the  only 
practical  way  by  which  we  could  be  of  benefit  to  the  peo- 
ple would  be  to  get  up  some  scheme  by  which  they 
would  be  encouraged  to  save  their  money,  with  which 
to  purchase  homes  for  themselves.  While  conducting 
the  Gloucester  Mission  in  Milton  Hall,  we  had  been  ac- 
customed to  see  an  association  meet,  regularly  every 
month,  in  a  room  in  front  of  the  one  occupied  by  us  in 
the  same  building.  The  members  came  usually  in  their 
working  clothes  and  paid  in  dues.  On  further  inquiry 
we  found  that  this  was  a  building  and  loan  association, 
the  object  of  which  was  to  secure  homes  for  the  mem- 
bers. We  found  that  most  all  the  members  were  poor, 
hard  working  men,  many  of  them  only  recently  from  the 
old  country,  and  that  quite  a  number  were  paying  for 
their  homes  in  this  way.  This  we  said  is  just  what  the 
colored  people  need,  especially  in  the  northwestern  sec- 
tion of  the  city.  Accordingly  we  consulted,  first  with 
our  friend  Mr.  McGill,  who  highly  approved  of  the  idea, 
provided,  that  there  could  be  created  among  the  people 
sufficient  interest  to  keep  up  the  association.  We  had 
a  number  of  conferences  on  the  subject.  It  was  finally 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  243 

agreed  that  I  should  carefully  canvass  the  field,  and  se- 
cure, if  possible,  the  sentiments  of  the  people  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  if  we  found  that  an  association  was  feasible,  to 
submit  a  plan  of  management.  After  a  careful  investiga- 
tion we  found  that  the  people  were  ready  for  an  asso- 
ciation of  the  kind,  and  we  submitted  to  Mr.  McGill,  the 
following  plan  of  management : 

First,  That  the  Board  of  Directors  should  consist  of 
white  and  colored  persons. 

Second,  That  the  Treasurer  should  be  a  solid  business 
man  of  the  city,  of  wide  experience  and  well  known 
throughout  the  city,  and  a  man  in  whom  both  the  white 
and  colored  people  had  the  most  implicit  confidence. 

Third,  That  the  President  of  the  association,  the  Vice 
President  and  Secretary  should  be  similarly  well  known 
and  that  they  should  all  be  colored  men. 

Fourth,  That  the  Solicitor  should  be  one  of  our  most 
prominent  lawyers. 

In  regard  to  the  Treasurer  I  knew  of  no  one  who  would 
answer  so  well,  as  Mr.  McGill,  because  he  not  only  ful- 
filled in  every  way  the  requirements,  but  was  thoroughly 
interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  colored  people,  and  was 
doing  what  he  could  to  improve  their  condition.  He  fi- 
nally consented  to  act,  provided  the  people  wanted  him, 
and  that  other  gentlemen  named  come  on  the  Board  of 
management  with  him.  It  was  now  our  duty  to  call  upon 
the  different  persons  we  had  decided  upon,  and  get  their 
assent  to  act.  When  we  called  upon  the  colored  men, 
they  said:  "Oh,  yes,  Mr.  Anderson,  the  idea  is  a  very 
good  one,  but  what  assurance  have  you  that  the  associa- 
tion will  hold  together  after  organized;  for  experience 
teaches  that  colored  associations  are  very  short  lived." 
"Yes"  we  said,  "we  are  sorry  to  admit  that,  as  a  general 
thing,  that  is  true;"  but  we  said,  "we  are  going  to  have 
white  men  in  the  management."  "Then  the  colored  mem- 
bers," they  said,  "would  be  but  mere  figure  heads." 
"No,"  I  said,  "the  management  should  be  composed  of 


244  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

white  and  colored  men,  and  the  officers  should  be  the 
same."  This  satisfied  them,  and  every  one  whose  name  we 
had  down,  consented  to  act.  Our  next  duty  was  to  call 
upon  the  white  friends,  whom  we  desired  to  come  into 
the  Board  of  Management.  We  first  called  upon  a  well 
known  business  man  of  large  means."  "Yes,  Mr.  Ander- 
son the  idea  is  an  excellent  one,"  he  replied,  in  answer 
to  my  statement.  "What  the  colored  people  need"  he  con- 
tinued, "is  to  learn  economy  and  save  their  money.  It  is 
not  that  they  do  not  work  and  earn  wages,  but  that  they 
do  not  save  their  money  when  earned.  They  are  too  im- 
provident." "Yes,  Mr.  Anderson,  you  are  exactly 
right;  what  is  needed  is  a  good  building  and  loan  associa- 
tion for  your  people,  managed  by  good,  substantial,  white 
men;  then  it  will  be  safe  and  the  money  will  not  be 

squandered."      "My   Dear  Mr.  ,"   we   said, 

I  do  not  mean  to  get  up  an  association  for  colored  people, 
to  be  managed  by  white  men,  or  by  black  men,  but  by 
both  white  and  black  men  conjointly.  To  confine  the 
management  to  either  would  be  to  weaken  its  effective- 
ness, for  it  would  never  grow  to  any  large  proportions. 
We  are  too  near  to  the  house  of  bondage  to  have  the 
management  of  an  untried  enterprise  among  us  confined 
wholly  to  our  own  people,  because  there  is  not  sufficient 
confidence  among  us  as  yet  in  each  other,  as  business 
managers,  for  one  of  the  secret  schemes  of  slavery  was 
to  get  the  slaves  to  be  suspicious  of  each  other.  Then 
again  to  put  the  management  wholly  in  the  hands  of  the 
whites  would  be  to  defeat  the  object,  because  the  colored 
people  would  not  take  hold  with  any  hearty  interest  be- 
cause they  would  consider  themselves  as  being  simply  fig- 
ure heads,  which  would  be  true.  But  if  the  management 
would  be  in  the  hands  of  white  and  colored  trustees,  they 
would  learn  from  each  other,  and  confidence  would  be  se- 
cured. The  building  and  loan  association,  Mr. , 

which  will  be  the  most  effective  in  getting  the  colored 
people  to  save  their  money,  with  the  view  of  securing 


ITS  RELA  TION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  245 

homes  for  themselves,  must  be  one  found  on  the  true  and 
broad  principles  of  the  American  institutions ;  an  associa- 
tion, which,  while  it  has  for  its  primary  object,  the  secur- 
ing of  homes  for  the  colored  people,  yet  its  doors  should 
be  thrown  open  to  all,  white  and  black  alike,  and  the  man- 
agement, in  regard  to  the  trustees,  should  be  composed 
of  both,  but  that  the  initial  idea  should  have  special  em- 
phasis. The  President  and  Vice  President  should  be 
colored  men,  and  also  the  Secretary,  but  that  all  the 
men  in  the  management,  both  white  and  colored,  should 
be  the  very  best  that  the  city  can  afford."  "You  are 
right,  Mr.  Anderson,"  he  said,  "and  you  can  use  me  any 
way  you  may  see  proper." 

Accordingly,  on  the  I2th  of  February,  1888,  a  meeting 
was  called  at  the  Berean  Presbyterian  Church  for  the 
purpose  of  considering  the  propriety  and  feasibility  of 
such  an  organization;  and  after  a  most  enthusiastic  ex- 
pression in  favor  a  building  and  loan  association  was 
effected,  consisting  of  the  following  officers  and  di- 
rectors : 

President, 
WILLIAM  STILL. 

Vice-President, 
MATTHEW  ANDERSON. 

Treasurer, 
JOHN   McGILL. 

Secretary, 
W.   W.    STILL. 

Solicitor, 
GEO  S.  GRAHAM. 

Directors. 

William  S.  Reyburn,  Reuel  Stewart,  M.  D., 

John  H.  Glower,  Chas.  N.  Brown, 

Thomas  Walter,  Jos.  N.  Pattison, 

Herkimer  Rosebone,  Stephen  L.  Nichols, 

Joseph  Clough,  Carter  Williams, 

William  H.  Crawford,  Jacob  A.  Jefferies, 

John  A.  Scott. 


246  PRESS  YTERIANISM- 

On  motion  of  Hon.  Geo.  S.  Graham,  seconded  by  Mr. 
John  H.  Qower,  the  association  was  named  in  honor  of 
the  church,  "The  Berean  Building  and  Loan  Association 
of  Philadelphia." 

The  personnel  of  the  Officers  and  Directors  of  the  as- 
sociation July,  1897,  is  as  follows: 

OFFICERS: 

Wm.  Still,  President,  244  South  I2th  St. 

M.  Anderson,  Vice-President,  1926  South  College  Ave. 

John  McGill,  Treasurer,  S.  E.  Cor.  22d  &  Sp.  Garden  Sts. 

Hon.  Geo.  S.  Graham,  Solicitor,   560  Bullitt  Building. 

W.  W.  Still,  Secretary,  1607  Bainbridge  St. 

DIRECTORS : 

R.  Stewart,  M.  D.,  John  H.  Clower, 

John  G.  Parke,  Robert  S.  Jackson, 

Chas.  N.  Brown,  John  Marshall, 

Wm.  A.  Drain,  Chas.  A.  Thomas, 

F.  R.  Whiteside1,  Wm.  T.  Simpson, 

John  M.  Porter,  Ph.  D.,  A.  G.  Rumsey, 

H.  B.  Cooper. 

AUDITORS: 
Michael  J.  Brown,  John  W.  Harris. 

The  correctness  of  my  position  is  seen,  in  the  fact, 
that  at  this  writing,  fifty  homes  have  been  secured  for  the 
colored  people,  for  the  most  part,  in  desirable  neighbor- 
hoods, and  that  the  assets  are  over  sixty-two  thousand 
dollars,  while  the  monthly  receipts  are  from  twelve  hun- 
dred to  two  thousand  dollars. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
THE  CONCLUSION. 

In  conclusion  we  wish  to  say,  that  notwithstanding 
the  work  of  raising  the  money  for  the  grounds  and  build- 
ings, of  the  Berean  Presbyterian  Church,  viz.:  Church 
and  parsonage,  was  herculean,  and  the  trials  were  most 
vexatious,  we  sincerely  thank  God  for  suffering  us  to 
undertake  it,  because  the  experience  has  been  to  us  of 
infinite  value. 

A  STRONGER,  WISER  AND  BETTER  MAN. 

We  are  stronger,  broader,  wiser  and  in  every  way  bet- 
ter prepared  to  do  yeomanry  work  for  the  Master  than 
ever  before. 

And  then  too,  we  are  more  charitably  inclined,  for, 
although  we  have  been  at  times  most  severely  tried  and 
wounded,  being  often  grossly  insulted,  for  no  cause, 
other  than  that  we  were  identified  with,  and  demanded 
for,  a  much  wronged  and  struggling  people,  the  same 
consideration  and  respect  accorded  to  others,  we  are  not 
entertaining  any  feelings  of  animosity,  bitterness, 
revenge,  or  hatred,  of  any  kind  towards  a  single  indi- 
vidual. 

On  the  contrary  we  have  nothing  but  the  most  kind- 
ly feeling  towards  all.  In  fact  our  heart  is  bursting 
forth  in  love  and  gratitude  towards  all,  who  in  any  way 
encouraged  us  in  our  efforts,  and  we  have  nothing,  but 
good  will  and  forgiveness  for  them,  who  wronged  and 
opposed  us.  And  we  would  say  too,  that  if  in  our  zeal 
for  success,  we  have  inadvertently  wronged  or  wounded 
the  feelings  of  any,  or  in  any  way  taken  advantage  of  any 
one,  we  sincerely  regret  it,  and  beg  his  or  her  pardon. 

247 


248  PRESS  YTERIANISM. 

But  we  would  say  to  such,  if  there  be  any,  that  in  all 
our  work,  in  connection  with  the  Berean  Church,  we 
never  once,  knowingly,  or  intentionally,  wounded  the 
feelings  or  took  advantage  of  a  single  soul.  Even  when 
we  administered  a  rebuke,  which  may  have  seemed  se- 
vere or  scathing,  or  perhaps  appeared  presumptuous, 
our  motive  was  not  retaliatory,  but  an  earnest  desire 
to  have  the  person  see  his  error,  and  if  possible  change 
his  attitude  towards  us,  and  our  work,  as  well  as  the 
people,  we  represented. 

Our  motive  in  all  our  work  and  in  making  use  of 
whatever  methods  we  did  was  to  retain  and  create 
friends,  not  enemies;  to  convince  and  convert  to  our 
way  of  thinking,  not  repel  and  embitter;  to  create  a 
public  sentiment  in  favor  of,  not  against,  the  Negro;  to 
create,  build  up  and  cause  to  fructify,  not  destroy,  tear 
down  and  blight. 

In  all  of  our  labors  in  building  the  Berean  Presby- 
terian Church  we  have  kept  before  us  but  one  thought, 
which  thought  can  be  expressed  in  one  word,  namely: 
"Success."  This  thought,  we  are  happy  to  say,  we  are 
now  enjoying  in  the  full  realization  of  its  consummation. 
It  has  materialized.  The  church  has  been  built,  fur- 
nished, paid  for,  and  turned  over  to  the  corporation. 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  BEREAN  CHURCH. 

Now  as  we  enter  upon  the  work  of  building  up,  and 
developing  the  moral,  intellectual  and  spiritual  part  of 
the  enterprise,  we  shall  keep  "Success"  emblazoned 
upon  our  banner  as  our  watchword,  and  with  God's  as- 
sistance, together  with  the  sympathy  and  aid  of  our 
friends,  we  feel  sure  that  success  will  crown  our  efforts. 

In  regard  to  this  second  stage  of  our  work,  we  beg 
leave  to  call  the  attention  of  our  friends  to  a  few  prac- 
tical suggestions,  along  the  line  of  its  development. 

We  have  said  in  these  pages,  that  in  laboring  among 
the  colored  people,  as  missionaries  and  ministers  of  the 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  249 

Gospel,  that  we  must  do  more  than  preach  on  the  Sab- 
bath. We  must  instruct  along  all  the  lines  which  per- 
tain to  their  moral,  social,  intellectual  and  religious  well 
being.  The  Berean  Church  has  already  begun  in  this 
way,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  institutions  and  organi- 
zations, which  have  been  established  for  the  intellectual, 
social,  economical  and  moral  development  of  the  people. 

For  example,  the  BEREAN  KINDERGARTEN, 
which  after  being  carried  on  privately  for  ten  years,  has 
since  been  taken  under  the  care  of  the  Board  of  Public 
Instruction. 

THE  BEREAN  BUILDING  AND  LOAN  ASSO- 
CIATION, which  has  for  its  object  the  encouragement 
of  home  getting  among  the  colored  people  and  which 
has  been  the  means  of  their  securing  upwards  of  fifty 
homes  within  the  last  nine  years. 

THE  BEREAN  YOUNG  WOMEN'S  PARLOR, 
which  has  for  its  object  the  protection  and  benefit  of 
young  girls,  who  get  off  one  day  or  part  of  a  day  each 
week.  The  "Y"  Parlor  is  to  be  a  home  for  them,  where 
they  can  come  and  have  a  comfortable  and  attractive 
room  with  books  and  periodicals,  and  also  secure  a 
wholesome  meal,  for  five  or  ten  cents,  and  at  the  same 
time  be  protected  from  evil  and  contaminating  influences. 

THE  BEREAN  CLUSTER  AND  WHITTIER 
LITERARY  SOCIETIES,  which  have  for  their  objects 
the  drawing  out  and  developing  of  literary  tastes  of  the 
young  people. 

THE  BEREAN  DISPENSARY,  which  was  opened 
several  years  ago,  under  the  supervision  of  the  pastor's 
wife,  Dr.  C.  V.  Anderson,  for  the  benefit  of  women  or 
children  within  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the 
church.  It  is  hoped  that  in  having  them  come  to  the 
church  for  medical  treatment,  they  would  come  for  spirit- 
ual healing  also.  This  venture,  however,  has  not  been 
as  successful  as  some  others,  because  of  the  lack  of 
means. 


2  so  PRESB  YTERIANISM. 

THE  BEREAN  TYPE-WRITING,  SHORT- 
HAND AND  COPYING  BUREAU.  This  depart- 
ment has  been  only  recently  opened.  Its  object  is  to 
give  employment  in  time,  to  a  number  of  young  men 
and  women,  especially  women,  who  have  aspirations  in 
this  direction,  but  who  can  get  nothing  to  do.  One  of 
the  best  patrons  in  this  department  is  a  distinguished 
professor  in  one  of  the  leading  Institutions  of  learning 
in  the  city. 

We  hope  as  soon  as  we  get  sufficient  encouragement 
to  open  up  an  employment  bureau,  where  good  and  re- 
liable help  and  respectable  families  will  be  brought  in 
touch  with  each  other  and  both  be  mutually  protected. 

In  this  connection  we  would  mention 

THE  BEREAN   COTTAGE. 

The  Berean  Cottage,  or  Church  Home,  on  New  York 
avenue,  POINT  PLEASANT,  NEW  JERSEY.  This 
excellent  charity  is  the  gift  of  Mrs.  Margaret  M.  Barber, 
of  Philadelphia,  and  it  is  intended  to  assist  in  meeting 
a  felt  want,  not  only  in  the  Berean  Church,  but  among 
the  colored  people  generally,  namely,  a  first-class  house 
where  respectable  and  refined  colored  people  can  be  ac- 
commodated at  the  sea  shore  without  being  subjected  to 
insults  and  insinuations,  and  at  the  same  time  be  pro- 
tected against  those  baneful  and  contaminating  influ- 
ences which  are  so  prevalent  at  watering  places. 

The  cottage  is,  and  is  not,  a  charity.  It  is  a  charity, 
first,  in  that  it  is  a  gift  by  Mrs.  Barber  to  the  Berean 
Presbyterian  Church.  Second,  there  is  connected  with 
it  a  fresh  air  fund,  by  which  a  few  deserving  children  of 
the  Sabbath  School  and  Loyal  Legion  Band  are  assisted 
in  a  few  days'  outing  at  the  sea.  Third,  a  few  deserving 
persons,  especially  ministers  of  the  gospel  and  mission- 
aries, needing  rest  and  the  invigorating  atmosphere  of 
the  sea,  but  unable  to  pay  fully  their  way,  its  purpose  is 
to  assist.  But  it  is  not  a  charity  in  that  there  is  anything 


ITS  RELA  TION  TO  THE  NEGR  O.  251 

about  it  that  savors  of  a  Home,  in  the  commonly  accept- 
ed sense  of  the  term,  or  a  hospital,  but  a  home  in  the  strict 
Christian  or  Biblical  sense,  where  there  is  a  community 
of  interests  and  disinterestedness  of  spirit  the  same  as  is 
seen  in  every  well  regulated  and  Christian  home.  The 
board  is  reasonable,  not  exorbitant,  beyond  the  reach 
of  our  people,  nor  is  it  the  lowest,  that  it  would  savor  of 
charity.  The  design  is  to  make  Berean  Cottage  a  mecca 
for  the  thinking  people,  men  and  women  of  the  race, 
where  papers  will  be  read,  addresses  delivered,  and  ques- 
tions discussed  pertaining  to  all  subjects  which  are  in- 
timately connected  with  the  uplifting  of  the  race. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  Council  of  the  Colored  Presbyte- 
rian Ministers,  which  has  been  recently  organized,  and 
which  seems  to  have  a  most  promising  future,  will  take 
an  interest  in  Berean  Cottage  and  assist  in  making  it  a 
Chautauquan  Centre;  also,  that  the  missionaries  in  the 
South  who  come  North  in  the  summer  for  recreation 
and  rest,  will  select  Berean  by  the  Sea  as  their  haven  of 
rest. 

The  Cottage  is  situated  only  a  square  from  the  sea,  in 
a  most  beautiful  and  picturesque  part  of  Point  Pleasant. 
The  building  is  attractive  and  well  appointed,  and  it  is  in 
every  way  adapted  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  used. 
While  it  is  not  large,  there  being  accommodations  for 
not  more  than  twenty  or  twenty-five  at  one  time,  the 
grounds  are  ample,  and  enlargement  can  be  made  so  as 
to  accommodate  as  many  as  two  hundred,  whenever 
there  will  be  a  sufficient  demand  and  funds  to  be  had. 

Card  players,  dancing  parties,  wine  bibbers  and  the 
foolishly  gay  are  not  sought.  The  design  of  the  home 
is  to  be  a  recreating  home,  a  place  of  rest  for  the  hard 
working  and  honest  toilers  of  the  race.  The  men  and 
women  who  are  working  earnestly  and  honestly  for 
the  uplifting  of  mankind  irrespective  of  race  or  creed  are 
welcome  to  Berean  Cottage. 


252 


PRESS  YTERIANISM. 


The  house  is  under  the  immediate  management  of  Dr. 
Caroline  V.  Anderson,  and  a  committee  of  W.  C.  T.  U. 
ladies,  with  an  advisory  board  composed  of  broad 
minded  and  liberally  disposed  ladies  and  gentlemen, 
white  and  colored,  of  which  the  donor,  Mrs.  M.  M. 
Barber,  is  one,  a  lady  who  has  taken  the  deepest  interest 
in  the  welfare  of  the  colored  race,  as  is  proven  by  her 
princely  gift,  not  only  of  this  cottage,  but  by  the  large 
and  well  appointed  school  building  at  Aniston,  Alabama, 
which  she  built  and  presented  to  the  Board  of  Freedmen 
for  the  education  of  colored  girls. 

Berean  Cottage  has  had  as  patrons  Doctors  Crummell 
and  Grimke,  of  Washington;  Satterfield,  Principal 
Scotia  Seminary,  Concord,  N.  C.;  Prof.  Wm.  S.  Scar- 
borough, of  Wilberforce  University,  Ohio;  Mr.  William 
Still,  Mrs.  Duterte  and  a  number  of  teachers  of  Philadel- 
phia and  other  surrounding  towns  and  cities. 

LET  THOSE  WHO  ARE  ABLE  ASSIST. 

We  would  earnestly  suggest  that  the  friends  of  liberal 
means  assist  in  developing  these  different  departments 
which  have  been  started  by  contributing,  first,  liberally 
of  their  funds  towards  them.  It  may  be  that  one  friend 
will  feel  a  special  interest  in  one  department,  and  another 
in  another.  If  so  let  them  assist  the  one  in  which  they 
are  the  most  interested.  Or,  if  some  friend  should  feel 
more  interested  in  the  opening  of  and  developing  a  de- 
partment different  from  any  that  has  been  opened,  and 
which  shall  have  for  its  object  the  advancement  of  the 
colored  people  in  Philadelphia  generally,  and  the  Berean 
Church  in  particular,  we  would  be  only  too  glad  to  have 
him  or  her  take  hold  of  such  a  department  and  develop  it. 

Second.  There  is  a  mortgage  of  thirty-five  hundred 
dollars  against  the  parsonage,  which  we  sincerely  hope 
and  pray  that  some  friend  or  friends  who  have  the  means 
at  their  command  will  pay  off.  We  are  sure  that  noth- 
ing would  give  one  greater  satisfaction  on  leaving  this 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  253 

world  than  the  thought  that  they  were  instrumental  in 
placing  a  struggling  church  upon  its  feet;  especially  if 
they  are  rich,  and  at  the  same  time  conscious  of  the  fact 
that  they  cannot  take  anything  out  of  this  world  but  their 
souls  and  the  consciousness  of  their  life  here. 

Third.  We  would  suggest  also  that  friends  on  looking 
around  for  charities,  when  they  are  about  to  make  their 
wills,  would  not  forget  the  Berean  Church,  for  there  is 
not  a  church  in  the  country  which  stands  in  greater  need 
of  an  endowment  fund.  And  there  is  no  end  to  the 
amount  of  good  which  it  would  do  if  it  were  financially 
relieved.  Besides,  there  is  no  church  in  the  country 
where  the  provisions  of  a  bequest  would  be  more  strictly 
carried  out,  and  all  moneys  more  economically  expended, 
as  the  Trustee  Board  is  composed  of  some  of  the  best 
business  men  in  the  city,  and  who,  in  addition,  are  godly 
men. 

Fourth.  Legacies  to  the  church  should  be  made  out  to 
the  corporate  name  of  the  church,  namely:  To  the 
Berean  Presbyterian  Church  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

THE  SEAL   OF  THE   SPIRIT  UPON   THE  WORK. 

But  we  imagine  we  hear  some  one  ask,  "What  evi- 
dence have  you,  Mr.  Anderson,  that  the  seal  of  the 
Spirit  is  upon  your  work?  For  while  all  you  have  done, 
and  propose  to  do,  is  excellent,  still  if  the  seal  of  the 
Spirit  is  not  upon  your  work  all  that  you  have  done  is 
but  a  sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling  cymbal." 

No  one  is  more  sensible  of  this  fact  than  we,  for  we 
know  well  that  unless  the  Holy  Spirit  is  with  us  that  our 
work  is  less  than  useless.  Still,  we  know  that  the  dis- 
ciples were  three  years  in  constant  attendance  upon  the 
Lord,  and  were  for  forty  days  in  expectancy  at  Jerusalem 
after  His  resurrection  before  the  day  of  pentecost  had 
fully  come.  And  that  Paul  was  some  three  years  prepar- 
ing for  the  great  work  to  which  he  was  called  before  he 
entered  properly  upon  it;  while  Moses  was  for  forty 


2  54  PRESS  YTERIANISM, 

years  attending  Reuel's  flocks  before  he  was  commis- 
sioned to  lead  the  Israelites  up  out  of  Egypt.  Now. 
would  any  one  say  that  the  Spirit  was  not  with  the  dis- 
ciples, nor  with  Paul,  nor  Moses,  until  they  received  the 
divine  afflatus? 

Moses  in  his  youthful  impetuosity,  thinking  to  hasten 
the  Lord's  plans,  killed  an  Egyptian;  but  for  his  rash- 
ness and  sin  God  drove  him  to  the  wilderness  to  do 
penance  and  learn  wisdom  for  forty  years  in  the  land 
of  Midian.  The  children  of  Israel  were  for  forty  years 
under  the  strictest  discipline  in  the  severe  school  of  af- 
fliction before  they  were  prepared  to  enter  upon  the 
conquest  of  Canaan,  and  that  high  national  career  which 
made  them  famous  throughout  the  world. 

Christ  Himself,  though  the  eternal  Son  of  God,  went 
to  the  wilderness  and  for  forty  days  and  nights  submitted 
to  discipline  and  trial  before  he  entered  upon  His  worldly 
mission,  in  order  that  He,  as  a  man,  might  be  able  to 
succor  them  that  were  tempted,  and  also  be  an  example 
for  us.  While  the  disciples  tarried  at  Jerusalem  and 
Paul  in  Syria,  in  order  to  undergo  special  preparation 
for  their  work. 

Now,  if  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel,  Christ  and 
His  apostles  had  to  tarry  in  the  wildernes  until  they 
were  endued  with  special  wisdom  and  power  from  on 
high,  why  should  it  be  implied  that  the  Spirit  might  not 
be  with  the  Berean  Church,  simply  because  there  has 
not  been  any  great  signal  manifestation  of  His  presence 
and  power?  Is  it  to  be  inferred  because  there  has  been 
no  special  outpouring  that  He  has  not  been  with  us  at 
all? 

On  the  same  presumption  we  are  to  conclude  that  the 
Spirit  was  not  with  Moses  until  he  was  commissioned  at 
the  burning  bush;  nor  with  the  children  of  Israel  until 
they  entered  the  promised  land;  nor  the  disciples  of 
Christ  until  the  day  of  Pentecost?  The  fact  is,  from  the 
birth  of  Moses  until  his  death,  the  Spirit  was  with  him, 


ITS  RELATION  TO   THE  NEGRO.  255 

defending  him,  teaching  him  and  guiding  him.  The 
same  was  true  of  the  children  of  Israel  in  all  their  wan- 
derings and  vicissitudes  in  the  desert. 

The  Spirit  was  with  them  teaching  them.  And  this 
was  true  also  of  the  disciples  of  Christ.  And  the  same  is 
true  of  the  Berean  Presbyterian  Church. 

From  the  time  that  the  church  was  organized  until 
the  present  there  have  been,  all  along,  very  encouraging 
evidences  of  the  presence  of  the  Spirit.  Seldom  has 
there  been  a  communion  season  that  some  one  has  not 
been  received  into  the  fellowship  of  the  church  on  con- 
fession of  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  while  on  several  in- 
stances as  many  as  twelve  and  fifteen  were  received;  and 
we  feel  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  communicants, 
the  Berean  Church  has  as  many  spiritually  minded  and 
self  sacrificing  members,  as  any  church  in  the  city. 

There  are  members  whose  income  is  only  from  one 
hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  dollars  a  year  who 
give  annually  towards  the  support  of  the  church  from  six 
to  twenty-five  dollars,  and  who  take  a  lively  interest  in 
everything  that  pertains  to  the  welfare  of  the  church. 

Every  year,  in  the  winter  and  spring,  special  revival 
meetings  are  carried  on,  which  are  always  attended  with 
some  good  results,  while  on  several  occasions  revivals  of 
considerable  proportion  broke  out,  and  many  sinners 
were  soundly  converted.  Some  of  the  most  self-sacrific- 
ing members  of  the  church  were  converted  in  these 
meetings,  who  before  being  converted  were  seldom  seen 
in  any  church.  Besides  the  general  manifestations  of 
the  Spirit's  presence  in  the  Berean  Church  there  have 
been  special  manifestations. 

For  example,  the  very  first  person  converted  under  our 
ministry  in  connection  with  the  Berean  Church  was  Mrs. 
Catharine  Davis,  a  poor,  hard-working  widow  woman, 
who  lived  in  a  court  with  her  two  small  boys.  This 
woman,  though  perfectly  upright,  seldom  went  to  any 
church,  and  took  no  special  interest  in  religion. 


256  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

As  we  were  without  any  church  building  at  the  time, 
and  having  no  place  to  hold  our  weekly  meetings,  we 
conducted  cottage  prayer  meetings  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  her  home,  though  never  at  her  house, 
as  she  would  not  consent  to  having  the  prayer  meetings 
there.  Calling  upon  her  one  morning,  as  was  our  cus- 
tom, we  found  her  busy  washing,  at  the  same  time  tears 
streaming  down  her  cheeks.  When  we  inquired  the 
cause  she  said:  "Oh,  Mr.  Anderson,  I  am  such  a  sinner; 
I  feel  terrible."  "I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  so,  my  dear 
sister,"  we  replied;  "for  Christ  came  to  save  sinners." 
We  then  talked  to  her  about  her  soul's  salvation,  read 
several  promises  to  her,  and  gradually  led  her  to  see  the 
light.  She  at  once  surrendered  herself,  embraced  Christ 
and  was  very  happy.  She  then  took  us  by  the  hand  and 
said:  "Now,  Mr.  Anderson,  I  would  be  glad  to  have 
you  bring  the  prayer  meeting  to  my  house  every  night." 
From  that  day  to  the  present  Sister  Davis  has  lived  a 
consistent  Christian  life. 

Take  another  example :  While  doing  mission  work  on 
one  of  the  small  streets  we  came  across  a  family  con- 
sisting of  father  and  mother  and  four  small  children,  a 
girl  the  eldest,  and  three  boys.  This  family,  though  they 
had  been  for  some  time  in  the  city,  were  comparative 
strangers.  Like  many  families  who  come  to  the  city 
from  country  towns,  and  who  had  seen  better  times,  they 
did  not  care  particularly  to  form  acquaintances.  Conse- 
quently they  seldom  went  anywhere,  not  even  to  church, 
but  remained  a  little  community  among  themselves. 

When  we  called  the  mother  received  us  most  pleas- 
antly and  had  us  speak  to  a  sick  brother,  who  was  out 
of  Christ,  and  who,  his  sister  informed  us,  had  lived  a 
very  fast  life.  We  found  the  brother  a  very  sick  man 
indeed,  evidently  far  gone  with  consumption,  though 
not  confined  to  his  bed. 

At  first  we  did  not  feel  specially  interested  in  this 
brother,  but  we  were  very  much  interested  indeed  in  the 


77-5  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  257 

family.  But  through  the  earnest  solicitation  on  the  part 
of  the  sister  that  we  visit  him  regularly  we  did  so,  and 
became  deeply  interested  in  him;  and  it  was  not  long  be- 
fore we  had  the  satisfaction  of  leading  him  to  Christ. 
This  brother,  John  Butler,  was  one  of  the  twenty-six 
original  members  who  founded  the  Berean  Church. 

He  died  soton  after  in  another  State,  but  we  were  as- 
sured that  he  died  in  the  full  assurance  of  faith.  The 
mother  of  this  family  was  a  Christian,  but  the  father  was 
not.  Very  soon  he,  too,  gave  himself  to  Christ. 

The  children  united  with  the  Sabbath  School,  and 
when  the  Mission  was  organized  into  the  Berean  Church 
father  and  mother  came  into  the  organization,  the  father, 
John  Payn,  being  chosen  and  set  apart  as  one  of  the 
ruling  elders  soon  after. 

In  the  course  of  time  two  of  the  children  accepted 
Christ;  first  the  daughter,  Grace,  though  very  young, 
and  just  beginning  to  take  lessons  in  music,  became  our 
organist;  then  her  little  brother,  who  united  with  the 
church  when  but  nine  years  of  age,  and  who  is  now  an 
active  Sabbath  School  superintendent  in  Bethlehem,  Pa., 
while  the  sister  is  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  T.  B.  Tompkins, 
pastor  of  the  St.  James  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York 
city.  This  family  was  one  of  the  most  active  in  the 
Berean  Church,  and  when  they  were  about  to  move  to 
Bethlehem  we  felt  the  loss  would  be  irreparable. 

But  they  had  hardly  gone  until  another  family  came 
and  took  their  place,  a  family  which  we  knew  as  little 
about  before  they  visited  the  church  as  we  did  of  Brother 
Payn's.  This  family  came  from  Frankford,  a  suburb  of 
Philadelphia,  and  moved  into  the  very  street  and  identi- 
cal house  that  Brother  Payn  moved  out  of,  a  family  con- 
sisting of  father,  mother  and  four  children,  three 
daughters  and  one  son,  the  same  number  exactly  that 
were  in  the  other  family,  the  order  of  children  being  re- 
versed. In  this  there  were  one  son  and  three  daughters, 
while  in  the  other  there  were  one  daughter  and  three  sons. 


258  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

In  this  the  father  and  one  daughter  were  Christians 
when  we  formed  their  acquaintance,  in  the  other  only  the 
mother  was  a  Christian.  The  father  and  daughter  of  the 
former  family  at  once  connected  themselves  with  the 
church,  and  soon  after  the  father  was  chosen  and  set 
apart  as  a  ruling  elder,  which  position  he  has  filled  faith- 
fully ever  since,  the  members  having  the  utmost  confi- 
dence in  his  piety. 

In  the  course  of  time  the  other  two  daughters  came 
into  the  church,  and  then  the  son  and  finally  the  mother, 
when  the  whole  family  was  in  the  fold.  This  family, 
brother  James  Porter's,  is  a  credit  to  any  church ;  con- 
stant, self-sacrificing,  consistent  and  ever  ready  to  hold 
up  the  hands  of  the  pastor. 

One  of  the  daughters,  Carrie,  a  most  lovely  girl,  and  a 
teacher,  has  gone  to  her  reward  above,  having  died  in 
the  triumph  of  faith.  The  son,  having  worked  himself 
through  the  School  of  Pharmacy,  holds  an  important 
position  in  a  leading  drug  store  in  Philadelphia. 

Another  example  is  that  of  Phoebe  Brown,  a  young 
woman  whom  we  found  living  at  service  when  we  came 
to  the  city.  We  visited  her,  she  gave  herself  to  Christ 
and  became  one  of  our  most  active  Sabbath  School 
workers.  She  afterwards  married  the  Rev.  Robert 
Deputie,  A.  M.,  one  of  the  native  African  students  who 
graduated  at  Lincoln  University.  They  went  as  mis- 
sionaries to  Liberia,  West  Africa,  where  they  did  faith 
ful  work  for  a  number  of  years  until  God  called  them. 

Mrs.  Abbie  Firman,  known  as  Aunt  Abbie,  united 
with  the  church  early  in  1882.  She  was  old  and  blind, 
and  lived  in  a  little  room  in  a  court.  She  was  a  woman 
of  great  faith,  and  did  as  much  to  strengthen  and  en- 
courage the  writer  as  any  other;  and  she  did  as  much 
comparatively  towards  the  running  expenses  of  the 
church  as  any  one  member. 

She  had  nothing  to  give  herself,  but  she  sat  in  her 
door  in  the  summer  time  with  a  little  barrel  for  donations, 


ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  NEGRO.  259 

in  which  she  would  receive  contributions  for  the  Berean 
Church  from  all  who  would  give  her  as  they  passed  her 
door.  Many  times  would  she  say  to  the  writer:  "O,  Mr. 
Anderson,  my  barrel  is  full;  take  it  and  bring  me  an- 
other." 

At  times  the  writer  would  call  upon  her  when  he 
would  be  very  much  discouraged.  "Don't  be  discour- 
aged, Mr.  Anderson,"  she  would  say,  "for  God  has  shown 
me  in  dreams  that  you  will  succeed.  I  have  seen  the 
church.  It  is  to  be  a  beauty,  and  you  will  build  it,  and 
pay  for  it,  and  build  up  a  strong  congregation."  This 
dear  sister  never  lived  to  enter  the  new  church,  but  so 
far  as  the  material  building  is  concerned  her  predictions 
have  been  literally  fulfilled.  Our  prayer  is  that  her 
prediction  in  regard  to  the  spiritual  may  be  as  fully 
carried  out. 

Mrs.  Letitia  Thomas  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
church,  and  was  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season  in 
its  interest.  She  was  one  of  the  writer's  best  and  most 
substantial  helpers.  After  a  lingering  but  patient  illness 
with  that  fell  disease — cancer — she,  too,  was  called  to  her 
reward. 

Mr.  Peter  Stott,  known  as  Deacon  Stott,  was  one  of 
the  most  active  members  of  the  Berean  Church,  morning 
and  evening,  and  through  the  week,  unless  sick,  he 
would  be  found  in  the  meetings,  and  always  ready  to 
give  an  encouraging  word,  sometimes  coming  to  prayer 
meetings  from  over  seven  miles  in  the  country,  where  he 
lived  in  the  summer. 

Not  being  able  to  contribute  money,  he  took  care 
of  the  church  and  lawn  as  his  part  towards  the  running 
expenses.  He  was  conscientious  in  every  thing  that 
he  did.  Never  was  the  church  kept  in  a  better  condi- 
tion than  it  was  by  him  before  or  since.  He,  also, 
has  gone  to  his  reward. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  many  special  cases  of  the  spirits 
working  in  the  Berean  Church,  which  we  think  are 


260  PRESBYTERIANISM. 

sufficient  to  give  us  a  reasonable  hope  of  glorious  things 
in  regard  to  this  church  in  the  future., 

We  look  upon  the  Berean  Church  as  a  Mosaic,  which 
is  being  formed,  the  parts  of  which  when  viewed  in  their 
scattered,  unfinished,  and  apparently  useless  condition, 
appear  as  if  they  were  of  no  account,  and  therefore  the 
labor  which  is  being  expended  upon  them  as  useless  or 
in  vain;  but  when  these  fragmentary  parts  will  have 
been  brought  together,  having  been  polished  and  ce- 
mented into  one,  by  the  Holy  Spirit;  when  the  grand 
idea  and  purpose  of  the  church  will  have  been  seen  in 
all  of  its  fullness  and  gradeur  it  will  present  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  Mosaics  in  the  sisterhood  of  churches, 
in,  this  the  most  beautiful  and  interesting  city,  in  this 
fair  land,  the  City  of  Brotherly  Love. 

We  have  now  ended  our  sketch,  and  though  it  may 
have  errors  and  inaccuracies,  they  have  been  of  the 
head  and  not  of  the  heart,  for  we  have  been  most  pains- 
taking and  conscientious  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end;  and  we  believe,  that  though  there  may  be  errors, 
if  the  blessing  of  God  rest  upon,  and  His  spirit  go  with 
it,  that  great  and  lasting  good  will  result  from  our  hum- 
ble effort,  and  to  this  end  we  pray. 

The  End. 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 

Address    42-61 

Advantages  of  63-81 

Adarns,   Rev.  Ennels  J 48-52 

Agnew,  Rev.  B.  L.,   D.D 39 

Allison,    Judge   Joseph 192 

Amos,    Rev.    Thomas    H 52 

American    Missionary   Associa- 
tion     17,    23,   177,    178-182 

Anderson,  Dr.  Caroline  V 48 

Anderson,    Hezekiah    162 

Armstrong,  Rev.  Reuben  H — 
16,  18,  37,   51,  52 

Avery   Fund    162-164 

Eain,  Rev.  J.  W.,   D.D 39 

Baird,  Rev.  James  H.,  D.D... 48 

Baird,  John   193 

Barber,    Amizi    L 162 

Barber,  Mrs.  Margaret  M.  44,  245 

Barcley,    The    Misses 198 

Bayard,   Mrs.   Mary    193 

Benson,    Gustavus 192 

Benson,   Mrs.  Gustavus 192 

Berean — 

Christian  Endeavor   41 

Kindergarten    41 

Building  and  Loan, 

42-44-241-248 

Cottage  44-40-245 

Cadet   Corps    45 

Literary  Societies    249 

Dispensary  244 

Type   Writing  Bureau    ....144 
Young  Women's  Parlor..  ..249 

Temperance  Union   41 

Brockie,   Wm    193 

Brethren  in  the  Ministry,  100-101 

Brown,  Miss  Maggie S7 

Brown,    Wm.    C 179-1S1 

Brown,   Miss  Phoebe 253 

Brown,  Assawattamia   153 

Brown,  Morris  Brown  Mission.  27 

Brown,  Gilbert 30,  31 

Brown,  Mrs.  Emma  E.,  15,  17,  31 

Browne,  Wm.  H.  Esq 87 

Buxom  Girl   158 

Butler    31,   257 

Call  of  Rev.  M.  Anderson— 

32,   178 


PAGE. 

Camp,  Elder  Wm.  E 30 

Cattell,  Rev.  Wm.  C.,  D.D....52 

Clark,  Settie  J 30 

Christian  Endeavor   41 

Chambersburg,    Pa 155 

Clough,  Joseph    4t! 

Coates,    Mrs.    Anna.. 100,  193,  198 

Coates,   Abram    192 

Collation    48 

Conclusion    242 

Contents    9 

Contribution    87 

Converse,  John  H 100,  193 

Correll,    Joseph 38 

Correll,   Miss  Eliza 38 

Cramp,  Wm.  M 194 

Crawford,  Rev.  J.  Agnew,  D.D., 

38 

Crawford,    Mrs.    Helen 45 

Crow,   Alexander    193 

Cunningham,  Rev.  W.  L.,  D.D., 

45 

Cuyler,    Rev.   Theo.    L.,    D.D.  37 
Davis,   Mrs.   Catarina. .  ..250-251 

Dana,  Rev.   S.   W.,  D.D 39 

Dedicatory  Services   51 

Dickey,  Rev.  Chas.  A.,  D.D.,  48 

Disston,    Mrs.    Mary    193 

Disston,  Hamilton  193 

Deputie,  Rev.  Robert,  A.  M.,  258 
Distance  too  Great  Between  the 
White  and  Colored  People — 
219-220 

Diver,  Rev.  Charles  F 33,  34 

Dudes,  Negro   138 

Edwards,  Rev.  Rob't  A..D.D.,  52 

Education   134,  135 

Entered  New  Church   36 

Epitome     50 

Events  in  Life 93 

Experience   Ii7,  150,  182 

Faucet,  Aaron   38 

False   Friends    203-205 

Faries,    The    Misses 193 

Firman,    Aunt    Abbie 258-259 

Founders  of  Berean  Church.. 31 

Freeman,  James  A 193 

Friends,  Personal  191 

261 


262 


INDEX. 


Fries,  Aaron  193 

Funds,  Increase  of 48 

Gay  ley,   Thomas   G 194 

Gloucester,  Rev.  John..  13,  15,  38 
Grace    Congregational    Church, 

Cleveland,  Ohio  148 

Green  Hill  Presbyterian  Church, 

25 

Graham,  Hon.  Geo.  S 39,  192 

Grimke,   Mrs.   Charlotte  S....45 
Grimke,  Rev.  F.  J.,  D.D....5,  45 

Hall,   Milton    15 

Hand  of  God   183-285 

Harper,  Rev.  R.  D.,  D.D.— 

34,  37,  38,  39 

Hawkins,   Rev.   N.   0 48 

Harvey,  Joseph  193 

Henszey,  Wm.  P 193 

H ,  Mrs.  James 193-198 

Hittner,   Daniel  D 193 

Hogg,   James    38,    192 

Hogg,  Wm    38,  103 

Hogg,   Mrs.   Catharine   L., 

38,   100,   198 

Hogg,  Miss  Emma 38 

Hogg    J.  Renwick  100,  193 

Hogg,    Herbert    192 

Hogue,  Robert  McChaynne — 

51,  100,  193 

Home  Again   153 

Hood,  Miss  Eva  45 

Houston,  H.  H 193 

Huey,  Samuel  S 193 

Huey.  Samuel  B 192-193 

Ignorance    Woeful    183-185 

Incredulity   36 

Iberia  College   136,  137 

Impressions  of  Slavery   154 

Impressions  of  Princeton,  N.  J., 
167-168 

Impressions  of  the  South 156 

Janeway,  Rev.  T.  L.,  D.D....48 

Jarden,   Samuel  H 26,  95,  96 

Jones,   Rev.   R.   J.,   D.D 48 

Jones,   Elder  Robert 15,   25 

Jones,   Wm.   H 15 

Jones,  Mrs.  Margaret  88 

Johnson,  Wm.  J 15 

Knight,  Mrs.  Louisa   15 

Kennedy,  Mrs.  Rob't  Lenox,  193 

Lavatt,    Rev.   James 18 

Life  Work   176-177 

Love  for  the  Work  South 160 

Lynch,  Rev.  Wm.  A 52 

Let  Those  Who  are  Able  Assist, 
252-253 
McGill,  John, 

38,  52,  97,  98,  99,  193,  200-207 


PAGE. 

McGill,  Mrs.  John  38 

McGill,   Prof.   Alexander,   D.D., 

LL.    D 162-265 

Mclnnis,  John  T 192,  199 

Mclnnis,  Mrs.  John  T...193,  198 

Martin    Joseph  J 192 

Massey,  William  192,  193 

Massey,  Mrs.  William   199 

Massey,  Mrs.  Mary  199 

Moffat,    Prof.    James    C.,    D.D., 
166,  168 

Motives    191 

Mellen,  Miss  Susan  (Mrs.  Sher- 
idan)    15,  16 

Mount      Zion      Congregational 

Church,   Cleveland,  Ohio.... 23 

Mutchmore,    Rev.    Samuel    A., 

D.D 30,  38,  39 

Newkirk,   Rev.   Matthew,   D.D., 

39 

Nicholas,    Rev.    W.    D.,    D.D., 
30,  31,  34 

Nichols,   Elder   Joseph 30 

Negro    Students    at    Princeton 

Seminary     173-175 

Negro    Students    at    Princeton 

College    175-176 

Nevin.Rev.  Alfred,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
37,   39 

Nevin,   Rev.   Edward  H.,   D.D., 

37 

New   Haven    182 

Oberlin  College- 
Experiences   143-145 

Left  Oberlin   154 

Return   to   Oberlin    162 

Graduated  at  Oberlin 163 

Ogden,   Robert  C 52 

Organization   18 

Otto,   The   Misses    194,   198 

Outline   History   of   the    Mendi 

Mission,   W.   A 177-178 

Patterson,  Miss  Nellie  Ringold, 

38 

Patrick,   Robert    52 

Payn — 

Elder,  John  30,  252 

Mrs.    John    251 

Grace     252 

Elmer    252 

Paxton,    Prof.    Wm.    M.,    D.D., 

LL.    D 36,    37 

Peace  and  Harmony  214-215 

Pierce,  Judge  192 

Peirce,  George  89 

Pity  for  the  Negro  Contempt- 
ible     216 

Phillips,  Rev.  H.  L 52 


INDEX. 


263 


PAGE. 

Plan  of  Management   243 

Prejudice — 

Rebuked    180-182 

At  Princeton  184 

Possibilities  of  Berean  Church, 

34 

Potter,   Rev.  Frank  J 52 

Porter — 

Elder,  James;  Elizabeth,  Car- 
rie,     Amelia,      Hester     and 

John    257-258 

Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  Cen- 
tral     48 

Providence,      Guided      by      the 

Hand  of  134-135 

Property     of     Church     Turned 

Over  to  Trustees 205-206 

Princeton    163 

Reeve,  Rev.  John  B.,  D.D.— 
13,  15,  16,  20,  22,  39,  52,  94,  185 

Report,  Dr.  Reual  Stewart 48 

Reports  of  Work  Among  Freed- 

men    72 

Resignation    210-214 

Rebuked  Young  Southerner,  157 

Resume    188 

Reyburn,  Wm.   S 100,  193 

Richelson,  Rev.  John  213 

Ritchie,    Craig    D 88 

Robeson,    Rev.    Wm.    D 52 

Robinson,  Rev.  Thomas  H.,  D. 

D 164,  184 

Rollins,  E.  A 192-193 

Room,  A  lumber   166 

Room,  A  Good 166,  167 

Ryder,  Rev.  Chas.,  D.  D.  162-163 

Revelations    179 

Rules    of    life    186-187 

Scott,  Samuel  G 39 

Scarborough,      Prof.      Wm.      S. 

179-181 

Scott,    Thomas    206-208 

Secretaries    of    the     American 

Missionary  Association  179-181 

Sermon,   first  delivered    29 

Sentinel,  Philadelphia  ...101-105 

Seal  of  the  spirit 253-260 

Severe   measures   ressorted    to, 

Examples — 

1.  A  Wealthy   Lady.. 223-225 

2.  A  Railroad  Official  225-229 

3.  An     Aristocratic     Young 

Woman     229-231 


PAGE. 

4.  A    Philanthropist.. 232-235 

5.  A  Gentleman  235-236 

6.  Stand  taken  in  beginning 

a    Building    and     Loan 

Association    241-246 

Singers,   Fisk  Jubilee 23 

Sights  in  the  South 156 

Singerly,  Mrs.   Catharine,  189, 193 

Singerly,  Wm.   M 89 

Still    Wm 15,  17,  30 

Still,  W.  W 18,  30 

Still,  Mrs.  Carolina  V....  162-163 

Stipulation     35 

Stewart,  Dr.  Reuel 48,  52 

Stewart,    Prof.    J.    McCants,    39 

Stevenson,   Elder  John   B 30 

Stryher,  Mrs.  Flora 38 

Sweatmore  N.  C 100 

Tanner,  Bishop  B.  T 39 

Templeton,  Rev.  Wm.  R 52 

Temperance     41 

Temple    Street    Congregational 

Church    23 

Thompson,   Miss  Susan    ..15,  17 

Thain,   David    192-193 

Thomas,  Mrs.  Letitia 259 

Thissell,  Elder  Horatio  N.,  88,  97 

Tour  Lecturing  145-146 

Turning  Point  in  Life 152-153 

Unmanly    Negroes 220-221 

Unwise  Trustees    208 

Wanamaker,   Hon.  John 89 

Walked    to    Bena   from    Cleve- 
land     151 

Wiswell,  Rev.  G.  L.,  D.D 33 

Western  Classmates  at  Prince- 
ton   169,  172 

Western  Theological  Seminary, 

162 

Went    South    l-r>4 

Whillden,   Mr.  Alexander 192 

Williams,  Dr.  Edwin   192 

Wiser    Man     247 

Who  will   Pay  the  Balance  of 

the  Debt   216 

Wood,   Thomas   100 

Wood,  Mrs.  Thomas  198 

Wood,  Wm 48,  100 

Wood,  Rev.  Charles,  D.D 52 

Work,   Rev.  Wm.   R 33 

Work    of    Rev.    M.    Anderson — 
91,  92 


A     000  131  291     7 


